Announcing the 2023 Pioneer Research Journal

August 29, 2024

Journal announcement , Pioneer News

Pioneer Academics announces the 30 original research papers that were selected for the 2023 Pioneer Research Journal, Volume 10, 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 Program, the world’s only fully-accredited online research program providing U.S. college credit 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 52-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 2% of the research papers from Pioneer’s 2023 academic year.

For the scholars whose work will be featured in Volume 10, 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.

Alikhan Serikuly, a student at the National School of Physics and Mathematics in Turkey, noted that he was of course thrilled when he learned his paper had been selected for the journal. He also stated, though, “I was totally happy with what I already got out of the Pioneer program – tons of knowledge and many new skills that are sure to help me in my academic journey down the road.”

Jaeim Paik, a student at the United World College of Southeast Asia in Singapore, shared a similar sentiment: “I was able to hone my research and communication skills, specifically developing a research method that best suits me and learning how I can build a cohesive argument around a central thesis.” She also reflected on how the collaborative nature of the Pioneer experience enriched her research. “I would never have been able to complete the process,” she said, “without the continued support of my professor as well as my cohort peers who provided constructive feedback and unique ideas that only strengthened my paper.”

Elaine Gao, a student from Jenks High School in the United States, highlighted the excitement that comes from creating new knowledge through original research. “Throughout the time I was working on my research,” she said, “the same thought flashed through my mind: I’m discovering something new here by evaluating human rights development through Hegelian philosophy.”

We are proud of every Pioneer scholar who worked so tirelessly in the pursuit of knowledge in the 2023 academic year, and we are thrilled to recognize the work of the 30 scholars whose work will be featured in Volume Ten of the Pioneer Research Journal when it is published!

See the chart below for a complete listing of the papers selected for the 2023 Pioneer Research Journal.

Scholar Name	Scholar School	Scholar Country/Region (by school)	Pioneer Research Area	Pioneer Research Topic
Jaeim Paik	United World College of Southeast Asia, East Campus	Singapore	Anthropology/Sociology/Culture Studies	Environmental support around the world: To what extent are age and birth cohort a factor in determining attitudes towards environmental protection?
Jaeha Jang	Cranbrook Schools	United States	Anthropology/Sociology/Literature/Culture Studies/Gender Studies	Applications of and Challenges to Freud’s Oedipus Complex in Hermann Hesse’s Demian
Michael Gan	Dulwich College Shanghai Pudong	China	Architecture	Reinterpreting Architectural Heritage: Reflecting the Past and Shaping the Future in the Adaptive Reuse of Columbia Circle
Yi Xin	Beijing Huijia Private School	China	Art History/Architecture	Transformations of the Great Mosque of Cordoba: Deciphering Political and Religious Messages in Medieval Spain
Lyndia Lu	Shanghai High School International Division	China	Biology	Predictive Modeling of Nucleoside Analog-Induced Antiviral Resistance Mutations in SARS-CoV-2
Siddharth Manne	Sreenidhi International School	India	Biology	Biological implications of human space exploration: microgravity and radiation dysregulated genes
Lev Ermakov	SkyView Academy	United States	Biology	Investigating the Potential of a CRISPR-CAS System SARS-CoV-2 Treatment Administered Through the Nasal Passage
Chenxu Zhang	Beijing City International School	China	Business/Psychology	The Relative Persuasiveness of Gain- and Loss-Framed Messages on Changing Drivers’ Attitudes Towards and Intentions to Perform Aggressive Driving Behaviors
Zhenpeng Liu	Guangdong Country Garden School	China	Chemistry	Unveiling the Mechanism of Allicin: A Molecular Docking Study on its Interaction with SARS-CoV-2 Main Protease (Mpro)
Alikhan Serikuly	Haileybury Almaty	Kazakhstan	Chemistry	Biochemical Properties and Potential Benefits of Creatine as a Dietary Supplement
Sihao Jiang	Nanjing Foreign Language School	China	Chemistry/Biology	Using Molecular Dynamics Simulations to Explore the Diffusion of Diabetes Drugs Through Thermosensitive Materials Available for Microneedles
Chengqi Ma	Shanghai Pinghe School	China	Economics/Business	Associations between Country-Level Digitization, Formation of Imperfect Markets, and Firm-Level Productivity
Siheon Yang	Gangnam International School	South Korea	Economics/International Relations	Trade and Development: A Modified Model Approach and the Role of the Government
Yizai Yin	Robert Louis Stevenson School	United States	Education/Mathematics	Why Do Girls Explore STEM Fields? Unfolding Reasons Behind Female Students’ Decisions to Participate in or Quit STEM Careers
Chloe Gu	Shanghai High School International Division	China	Engineering/Computer Science	Design of a Fine Motor Skill Training Smart Toy for Autism Spectrum Disorders
Tianyi Shen	Nanjing Foreign Language School	China	Environmental Studies	Treatment of Micro-Plastic Related Pollution in Sewages along the Yangtze River: Waste Water Treatment Plants versus Constructed Wetlands
Nehir Yel	Diyarbakir Bahcesehir College Science and Technology High School	Turkey	Environmental Studies/Biology/Ecology	Global Warming and Altered Flowering Phenology: Ecological, Cultural, and Economic Dimensions
Yunxi Zhao	Chinese International School	China-Hong Kong	Environmental Studies/Ecology	Nanoparticle-mediated water remediation: Investigating the efficacy and ecological impact of Biosynthesized zinc oxide nanoparticles for removing heavy metal ions from contaminated water
Courtney Xia	Shanghai American School	China	Gender Studies/Sociology	How Do Sociocultural Norms Lead to Gender Segregation and the Wage Gap in the Legal Profession?
Jeremy Tu	Memorial High School	United States	Gender Studies/Sociology	An In(Queer)y Into Title VII: How Bostock v. Clayton County Fails Bisexual and Nonbinary Employees
Guqiao Wang	International Department, The Affiliated High School of South China Normal University	China	History	Colonialism and the Anglo-Chinese Curriculum in 19th-Century Hong Kong
Chase Teichholz	The Bronx High School of Science	United States	History/STS	Navigating the Chaos: Scientific Advancement and War in the Seventeenth Century
Isabella Zhu	Buckingham Browne & Nichols School	United States	Literature	Poetry Translation in the Age of Machines via Julia de Burgos’ “Río Grande de Loíza”
Jayce T. Walton	Langley High School	United States	Mathematics	The Code in the Hat: Hamming Codes Applied to Ebert’s Hat Puzzle
Mihaela Tzvetkova	The American College of Sofia	Bulgaria	Neuroscience/Biology	Circadian Rhythms and Breast Cancer: Exploring the Molecular IntERαctions of the CLOCK Gene with Estrogen Receptor Alpha
Ziting Gao	Jenks High School	United States	Philosophy/History	Ad Infinitum: The Freedom-Centered Development of Human Rights Based on the Hegelian Speculative Philosophy of History
Eliana Du	West Windsor-Plainsboro High School South	United States	Physics/Mathematics	A Qualitative Comparison of the Fast Fourier Transform and the Morlet Wavelet Transform for Potential Depression Diagnosis Using Resting-State Electroencephalographic Data
Zixuan Hong	BASIS International School Guangzhou	China	Sociology/Economics	A Meta-analysis of the Effect of Right-to-Work Laws on Labor Unions and Workers
Jiayi Wu	Shanghai Qibao Dwight High School	China	Sociology/Political Science/History	Shout through the Air: Rhetoric of China’s Lower-Class "Toilet Girl" as Empowerment and Subversion
Ryan Hong	Yongsan International School of Seoul	South Korea	STS/Anthropology	Urbanization and Food Waste in South Korea: An Ethnographic and Cultural Analysis of the Food Supply Chain Dynamics