Announcing the 2024 Pioneer Research Journal

Pioneer Academics announces the 26 original research papers that were selected for the 2024 Pioneer Research Journal, Volume 11, an international collection of certified undergraduate-level research. Published annually, the journal features the most outstanding scholarship generated by the global scholars enrolled in the Pioneer Research Institute, the world’s only fully-accredited online research institute providing U.S. four college credits for exceptional high school students from around the world.

Publication in the Pioneer Research Journal is a distinction achieved only after an intensive review process defined by thoroughness and objectivity. Each paper was nominated by one of Pioneer’s mentoring professors before undergoing a rigorous double-blind review by a member of the 54-member panel of faculty experts from top American universities and colleges. Reviewers evaluated each paper according to four criteria: engagement with scholarship, evidence and analysis, writing and organization, and scholarly contribution. The papers ultimately selected after undergoing this review represent 1.5%  of the research papers from Pioneer’s 2024 academic year.

For the scholars whose work will be featured in Volume 11, the publication of their research was the culmination of a transformative experience defined by academic growth and the pursuit of each author’s intellectual passions. And while having their work selected for inclusion in the journal is a distinct honor, what was most meaningful to these scholars was the experience of conducting original research on topics for which they had great passion and that met the high academic standards that define Pioneer’s academic system.

Shaan Mehta, a student at Dougherty Valley High School in the United States, reflected on the deeply personal nature of his research experience. “I had the rare opportunity to explore a topic that has always been deeply important to my family and me, breast cancer, turning my passion into impactful research. Working alongside my cohort and professor made the journey even more meaningful, and I would not have been able to create the paper I am proud of today without the feedback and encouragement I received.”

Libei Zhu, a student at the BASIS International School of Hangzhou in China, shared these thoughts about the Pioneer experience: ““Pioneer provides me with a deeper understanding of social psychology and neuropsychological diseases. I had a valuable opportunity to design and complete a research report, which is a great experience that helps me with my future university study. The enthusiasm and positivity of my peers further promoted me to complete the article effectively. This program shapes me as a scholar in ways that I couldn’t have done on my own.”

Jasmine John, a student from Garland High School in the United States, says, “My research experience with Pioneer has encouraged me to apply all new knowledge to create practical improvements for the people around me! Academics alone cannot change the world. Rather, academics in action can. “

We are proud of every Pioneer scholar who worked so tirelessly in the pursuit of knowledge in the 2024 academic year, and we are thrilled to recognize the work of the 26 scholars whose work will be featured in Volume 11 of the Pioneer Research Journal when it is published!

See the chart below for a complete listing of the papers selected for the 2024 Pioneer Research Journal.

Scholar Name	Scholar School	Scholar Country/Region (by school)	Pioneer Research Area	Pioneer Research Topic
Zhang, Kan (Kevin)	BASIS International School Park Lane Harbour	China	Philosophy	The Unfree Life Is Worth Living
Xu, Raymond Ruiping	Oakton High School	United States	Environmental Studies	Harnessing the Wind: An Analysis of the Feasibility of Offshore Wind Farms in Virginia and Implications for the East Coast
Gong, Haoning (Kevin)	George School	United States	Biology/Environmental Studies	Impact of Forestry Practices in South China on the Stopover and Conservation of Migratory Forest Dependent Birds
Feng, Peihe	The Affiliated High School of South China Normal University	China	Literature	Athlete, Artemis, and the “American Girl”: A New Perspective on May Welland in Edith Wharton’s The Age of Innocence
Yu, Zixiao	Beijing Number 80 High School	China	Biology/Environmental Studies	Melody of Survival: Tree Hydraulics and Resilience for Drought-Induced Cavitation
Tam, Justin	Staten Island Technical High School	United States	Environmental Studies	Nitrogen Pollution in the Mesoamerican Reef: Sources, Impacts, and Mitigation Strategies
Shang, Xiaomu (Maple)	Suzhou International Academy	China	Architecture	Adaptation of Historic Structures within Tropical Seismic Zones: A Case Study in Calle Real
John, Jasmine Ruth	Garland High School	United States	Business/Psychology	Relative Persuasiveness of Gain-Framed Beneficiary Framing Messages on Organizational Citizenship Behavior and Employee Discretionary Work Effort
Gutti, Mihira	Irvington High School	United States	Chemistry/Biology	Design and Evaluation of GDP366 Analogs for Survivin Inhibition
Zhu, Libei	BASIS International School of Hangzhou	China	Psychology	impaired oligodendrocyte morphology regulated by schizorphenia risk factors MAG gene leads to mental disorder-like behavior in mice
Zholmukhan, Aitore	National School Of Physics And Mathematics	Kazakhstan	Chemistry	Proposal for the Total Synthesis of (±)-Lingzhilactone B via Semipinacol Rearrangement
Zhang, Ruixin (Rui)	Tsinglan School	China	Education/STS	The Effects of Gamification in Flipped Learning on Student Achievement and Motivation in a Secondary Mathematics Classroom
Xu, Mulong	Nanjing Foreign Language School	China	Mathematics	Tiling of a Chessboard
Hei, Mingyi	Beijing No. 101 High School	China	Music	The Medical Power of Music: Music and Alzheimer’s Disease
Zhang, Hanxi (Tristan)	Montverde Academy- Shanghai	China	Computer Science	Vision Transformers for Detecting Al-generated Images
Mehta, Shaan	Dougherty Valley High School	United States	Biology	Investigating the effects of induced synthetic lethality through PARP-Inhibitors and ionizing radiation combination therapy in BRCA1/2 mutated breast cancer patients
Harikrishnan, Vedika	GEMS Wellington School Qatar	Qatar	Psychology	Impact of strengthened based intervention on well being and academic performance
Akkus, Yigithan	Koc Ozel Lisesi	Turkey	Astronomy/Physics	Testing Bekenstein-Hawking Entropy with Gravitational Wave Data Under Microcanonical Ensemble
Xiong, David Zhou	Buckingham Browne and Nichols School	United States	History/STS	Science, Slavery, and Society: Maria Sybilla Merian and Hans Sloane in the Colonial Americas
Shim, Amanda Charlie (Andie)	Phillips Academy	United States	History	Better Late Than Never: The Effect of South Korea’s Late Industrialization on its Modern Sustainability Practices
Tang, Rosalyn Yuen Yim	The Independent Schools Foundation Academy	China-Hong Kong	Chemistry/Biology	An investigation into the pharmacological mechanisms of the traditional Chinese medicine Qinigxin capsule in treating hypertension based on network pharmacology and molecular docking
Ryu, Hyunjun	The Frederick Gunn School	United States	Political Science/Sociology	Youth Advocacy in the Digital Age: Comparative Motivations and Impact of Digital and Grassroots Movements
Guo, Maximilian Yufei (Max)	BASIS Independent Silicon Valley	United States	History/Literature	Lenin’s Unattainable Utopia: The Incompatibility of Bolshevism and Democracy
Deng, Addison	Phillips Academy	United States	Literature	A Levinasion Interpretation: The Other and the Self Within the Classical World
Kuscer, Devi	UWC Atlantic	United Kingdom	Physics/Astronomy	Constraining Dark Matter Density in the Galactic Center Using the Peribothron Shift in the Orbit of S2
Li, Haorun (Rain)	Horace Mann School	United States	Biology/Computer Science	GEM-CDR: Cancer-Drug Response Prediction Using Graph Neural Networks and Molecular Attention