Upper school differential equations students wrapped up the semester with a project-based final designed to give them hands-on experience, public-speaking practice, and a chance to dive into topics that drew their interest.
Students researched and presented topics related to differential equations, exploring either theoretical concepts or practical applications.
Some of the topics studied were neural networks through an imaging model for “Clash Royale” emotes created by junior Alex Cai, senior Daniel Krasny and senior Fife Furmewa.
“My team and I have always been fascinated with neural networks as they are extremely applicable to everyday life, and we wanted to try out personally building a model relating to this topic,” junior Alex Cai said.
What drew Cai’s interest was that many well-known LLM models, such as ChatGPT, use such systems in their daily conversations.
“It was a genuine academic experience to research the technology of the future and a topic that is entrenched in people’s everyday lives,” Cai said.
Other projects included CRISPR, presented by senior John Patterson; stochastic equations and Ito’s Lemma, presented by senior Sophie Zhou; and Epigenetics, presented by senior Cate Schmidt.
Students were encouraged to use interactive activities for the audience to participate and to include computer simulations such as Python, Java, MATLAB, Desmos, GeoGebra, Excel, or any other technology. All members of the team had to answer questions about the technology used in their research and presentation
“The idea is that everyone in the class grows intellectually and learns about tools we may use in the future, and that we don’t know yet about their existence,” Mr. Jorge Buitrago, Upper School math, explaining his instructions.
The goal, Mr. Buitrago said, was to “impress the rest of the class, and me, by showing us what you have learned in your research.”
“I enjoyed researching the intersection between biochemistry and differential equations, and it further amplified my passion to pursue STEM in my future,” Patterson said.
