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
Doing research is commonplace.
