Ethan Zhou, a student at McLean High School, has placed 7th in the national 2023 Regeneron Science Talent Search. The competition is the nation’s oldest and most prestigious science and math competition for high school seniors. Zhou received a $70,000 award for studying the theory behind a machine learning model in which the learning program receives training data gradually. His math research could be especially useful for algorithms that predict and learn from events that are revealed over time, like the weather.  

Ethan is a three-time USA Math Olympiad qualifier and heads the math league at McLean High School, where he helped double the size of the club. He is also a prize-winning pianist, a skill he has honed for more than a decade. The son of Jia Hong and Guangming Zhou, Ethan has also tutored at the Hope Chinese School for five years.

His advice for other students interested in science is to "stay curious, nature is full of mysteries, and if nothing else, remembering this can make life more beautiful."

*The following announcement was published on January 30, 2023*

Ethan Zhou, a student at McLean High School, has been selected as one of 40 finalists in the 2023 Regeneron Science Talent Search. The competition is the nation’s oldest and most prestigious science and math competition for high school seniors. This year’s finalists represent 34 schools across 14 states. 

The 40 finalists will gather in Washington, D.C., in March. They will undergo a rigorous judging process and compete for more than $1.8 million in awards. The finalists will also have an opportunity to interact with leading scientists and share their research during a virtual “Public Day” event on March 12. The top 10 Regeneron Science Talent Search 2023 winners will be announced during an awards ceremony on March 14, streamed live from Washington, D.C. 

The finalists are each awarded at least $25,000, and the top 10 awards range from $40,000 to $250,000. Read more in the Society for Science press release. 

Five FCPS students were named in the top 300 teen scientists earlier this month. The top 300 scholars included four Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology students.