64th Annual STS (2004-2005)
Finalists
Albert Tsao

MASSACHUSETTS
Albert Tsao, 17, of Brookline, designed, fabricated and studied the optical properties of silicon nanofiber ring resonator loops that are thinner than the wavelength of light and almost long enough to fit around a strand of human hair for his Intel Science Talent Search materials science project. Albert is one of only a handful of researchers worldwide who can pull ultrathin silica nanofibers with a diameter smaller than 100 nanometers. Albert's fibers are so narrow that light does not fit inside them and must travel along their exterior surfaces, a phenomenon known as the evanescent field. When the fiber forms a loop, it selectively filters out certain colors of light through interference, a property that may be used in future applications as optical logic gates for super-fast computers. He hopes one day to find a way to manipulate nanofibers using magnetic bacteria. Last summer, Albert transferred to Brookline High School from his Maryland school to continue his summer research at Harvard. He hopes to attend Caltech. His hobbies include football, violin and reading. The son of Dr. Thomas Tsao and Susan Chung, Albert cites his sister as the most influential person of his scientific career.