Announcing the 2021 Pioneer Research Journal

Pioneer Academics proudly announces the release of Volume 8 of the Pioneer Research Journal, an international collection of 27 certified undergraduate-level research papers written by exceptional high-school students. Published annually, the journal features the most outstanding research generated by young global scholars enrolled in the Pioneer Research Program.

The Pioneer Research Journal nomination and selection process is thorough and objective. Pioneer’s mentoring professors nominate each paper before they undergo a rigorous double-blind examination conducted by a 46-member review panel composed of faculty from top American universities and colleges. This panel evaluated each piece according to four criteria: engagement with scholarship, evidence and analysis, writing and organization, and scholarly contribution. After undergoing this rigorous review, the papers ultimately selected represent the top 2.3% of the research papers from Pioneer’s 2021 academic year.

For the scholars whose work will appear in Volume 8, publication in the journal is a distinction earned through an exacting pursuit of knowledge fueled by intellectual curiosity and ardor for their chosen research topic. Nathaniel Chapman, a Pioneer scholar in philosophy from St. Paul’s School, noted that having his work selected for publication “affirmed that relentlessly pursuing my passions can actually produce something incredibly meaningful and concrete.” In a similar vein, Simratpal Deol, a student at Ithaca Senior High School, noted the importance of the “great leeway” Pioneer scholars have in developing the topic they research under the guidance of their mentors. It was this latitude, he said, that allowed him to find a subject about which he was ready to explore with enthusiasm.

Pioneer Scholars have the freedom to pursue research topics that speak to their intellectual interests within the framework of a research program that holds its participants to the highest academic standards. This ensures a rewarding experience for Pioneer scholars and mentors alike.

By unlocking their potential and leading them to produce the best possible results, the Pioneer Research Program empowers scholars to make meaningful contributions to their respective academic disciplines and develop the skills that will equip them for success as they continue their educational and professional journeys.

We look forward to publishing the 27 papers listed below in The Pioneer Research Journal, Volume 8. 

 

Author: Anna Kassim

School: Croydon High School, United Kingdom

Pioneer Research Area: Philosophy

Pioneer Research Concentration: The Examined Life

Pioneer Research Topic: Being’s Chain, God’s Death, and Atlas’ Shrug: How Meaning is Blurred and Deferred in the Consideration of Godlessness and Freedom

Author: Ariane Vidal

School: San Francisco University High School, United States

Pioneer Research Area: Science, Technology, and Society

Pioneer Research Concentration: Modern Technology: The Future, Present, and Past

Pioneer Research Topic: Race in the Eugenics Movement and the Progressive Era, 1910-1939

 

Author: Brian Nguyen

School: Northside College Preparatory High School, United States

Pioneer Research Area: Film Studies/Culture Studies

Pioneer Research Concentration: Media and Society

Pioneer Research Topic: Film’s Portrayal of Mental Illness and Violence: Schizophrenia, DID, and PTSD

 

Author: Caroline Greenstone

School: Greenhill School, United States

Pioneer Research Area: Philosophy/Biology

Pioneer Research Concentration: Bioethics

Pioneer Research Topic: Making Decisions in a Crisis: The Ethics of Scarce Resource Distribution Policies During COVID-19

 

Author: Catherine He

School: Ridley College, Canada

Pioneer Research Area: International Relations

Pioneer Research Concentration: Global Risk and Prediction

Pioneer Research Topic: Myanmar Risk Analysis: McDonald’s Case Study

 

Author: Chong (Phelps) Tin

School: Eton College, United Kingdom

Pioneer Research Area: Environmental Studies

Pioneer Research Concentration: Global Indigenous Health

Pioneer Research Topic: A Contemporary Perspective on the Health of the Great Barrier Reef and the Wellbeing of the Torres Strait Islanders

 

Author: David Li

School: William P. Clements High School, United States

Pioneer Research Area: Computer Science

Pioneer Research Concentration: Graph Analytics: Algorithms and Machine Learning

Pioneer Research Topic: Using Networks and Supervised Machine Learning to Analyze and Predict the Results of Team Sports Games

 

Author: Dorothy Chan

School: Brooklyn Technical High School, United States

Pioneer Research Area: Environmental Studies

Pioneer Research Concentration: Waste or Not Waste, That’s the Question – Solving Major Environmental Problems

Pioneer Research Topic: Imagining a Carbon-Neutral Future Through Standard Oil’s Last Four Sisters Standing: Beyond Petroleum, Chevron, ExxonMobil, and Shell

 

Author: Efe Uğurlu

School: Robert College, Turkey

Pioneer Research Area: Physics

Pioneer Research Concentration: Relativity, Cosmology, and the Contents of the Universe

Pioneer Research Topic: Putting Constraints on the Dark Matter Density at the Center of our Galaxy from the Most Recent Observations of GRAVITY

 

Author: Ezgi Erzincan

School: Lycée Saint Joseph, Turkey

Pioneer Research Area: Sociology

Pioneer Research Concentration: Global and International Migration

Pioneer Research Topic: The Consequences of Urbanization on Access to Housing and Education in Turkey: Struggles and Coping Strategies of Syrian Refugees

Author: Isaac Lowry

School: Granville High School, United States

Pioneer Research Area: Biology

Pioneer Research Concentration: Cell Biology

Pioneer Research Topic: A Proposal to Facilitate Endogenous, Physiological Adrenal Steroidogenesis in 21-OHD CAH Patients via Recurrent Enzyme Replacement Therapy

Author: Isabella Lashley

School: The Chapin School, United States

Pioneer Research Area: International Relations

Pioneer Research Concentration: Future Global Orders

Pioneer Research Topic: Along a Post-Colonial Spectrum: Considering Theory through an Analysis of Jordanian and Lebanese Identities

Author: Kenedy Quandt

School: Sierra Canyon High School, United States

Pioneer Research Area: Biology/Neuroscience

Pioneer Research Concentration: Treatment of Arm Dysfunction After a Stroke

Pioneer Research Topic: Effectiveness of Virtual Reality in Restoring Arm Function Following Stroke

 

Author: Laura Zhang

School: Ravenswood School for Girls, Australia

Pioneer Research Area: Political Science/History

Pioneer Research Concentration: Rhetoric and Social Movements

Pioneer Research Topic: Opening Our Hearts: An Analysis of How Noel Pearson Reframes the Debate through Irony and Identification.

Author: Moxuan Xiong

School: Rutgers Preparatory School, United States

Pioneer Research Area: Philosophy

Pioneer Research Concentration: The Examined Life

Pioneer Research Topic: Trans Selfhood, (Mis)recognition, and Post-identity Resistance

 

Author: Nathaniel Chapman

School: St. Paul’s School, United States

Pioneer Research Area: Philosophy

Pioneer Research Concentration: Descartes’ Meditations on First Philosophy

Pioneer Research Topic: An Examination of Descartes’ Doubt and the Foundations of Certain Knowledge

 

Author: Qianyu Liang

School: Shenzhen College of International Education, China

Pioneer Research Area: Psychology

Pioneer Research Concentration: Stress and Health

Pioneer Research Topic: The Relationship Between Religious Practice and Depression: Intrinsic Religiousness as Moderator

 

Author: Sangwon Shin

School: SMIC Private School, China

Pioneer Research Area: Chemistry/Biology

Pioneer Research Concentration: Using AutoDock Vina to Design Next-Generation Small Molecule Therapeutics.

Pioneer Research Topic: Structure-based Mixed Cannabinoid Design Presents New Opportunities for Fibrosis Treatment: A Computational Study

 

Author: Simratpal Deol

School: Ithaca Senior High School, United States

Pioneer Research Area: Environmental Studies

Pioneer Research Concentration: Environmental Challenges: Environmental Choices

Pioneer Research Topic: Exploring the Adverse Health Effects Associated with Atrazine Exposure and Whether More Substantial Restrictions Are Required in the United States 

Author: Xiaoyi Shi

School: Shanghai Foreign Language School Affiliated to SISU, China

Pioneer Research Area: Biology

Pioneer Research Concentration: Pandemic: The New Coronavirus

Pioneer Research Topic: Mutability and Function of SARS-CoV-2 ORF9b

Author: Xinran (Cici) Xu

School: Saratoga High School, United States

Pioneer Research Area: Environmental Studies

Pioneer Research Concentration: Environmental Justice of Resource Conflicts

Pioneer Research Topic: Expanding Intergovernmental Water Markets Between Colorado River Basin Tribal Countries and Western States as a Response to Socioeconomic Drought

Author: Xintong Chen

School: York School, United States

Pioneer Research Area: Psychology

Pioneer Research Concentration: Clinical Psychology

Pioneer Research Topic: Comparing the Response Rate, Remission Rate, and Effective Age Range of High-frequency Left Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (HFL rTMS) and Low-frequency Right Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (LFR rTMS) in Treatment of Major Depressive Disorder (MDD)

Author: Yong Jie (Justina) Chou

School: St. Paul’s Co-educational College, China-Hong Kong

Pioneer Research Area: Sociology/Media Studies

Pioneer Research Concentration: Social Media and Human Progress

Pioneer Research Topic: #ChallengeAccepted for Women in Turkey: Trending Instagram Participation or Collective Feminist Activism?

 

Author: Yuqian Qiu

School: Vanke Meisha Academy, China

Pioneer Research Area: Environmental Engineering

Pioneer Research Concentration: Water Resource Engineering

Pioneer Research Topic: A Pilot Wastewater Treatment Plant Designed to Target the Removal of Nanoplastics Using Acoustic Radiation Force (ARF)

Author: Zehra Gundogdu

School: Bahçeşehir High School for Science and Technology, Turkey

Pioneer Research Area: Art History

Pioneer Research Concentration: The Medieval Mediterranean: Confluence of Cultures.

Pioneer Research Topic: The Role of Iconoclasm in the History of Byzantine Art

  

Author: Zihao Gao

School: McCallie School, United States

Pioneer Research Area: Business

Pioneer Research Concentration: Financial Accounting & Analysis, Capital Markets, Entrepreneurship, and Decision Making

Pioneer Research Topic: EDU Valuation: A New Era for Private Education or the Beginning of the End?

Author: Ziyu Zhou

School: BASIS International School Park Lane Harbour, China

Pioneer Research Area: Economics

Pioneer Research Concentration: International Economics

Pioneer Research Topic: Migration’s Effect on the Sending Country: The Case of Poland