Crownsville, MD student takes curiosity to the next level
_{By Matt Bowden}

When Crownsville, MD student Jack Andraka spent his summer between third and fourth grade taking a course on "Inventions" at Johns Hopkins Center for Talented Youth, Intel's International Science and Engineering Fair (Intel ISEF) may have been the furthest thing from his mind.

But when a relative's illness turned for the worse, Jack took that early spirit of curiosity and steered it toward research on a new, earlier way to detect pancreatic cancer.

Now 15, Jack saw this inquistiveness pay off this last week as he took top honors with the Gordon E. Moore Award and a $75,000 prize at Intel's 2012 Intel ISEF ceremony. Using an approach similar to that of diabetic test strips, Jack created a simple dip-stick sensor to test the level of mesothelin, a pancreatic cancer biomarker, in blood or urine, to determine whether or not a patient has early-stage pancreatic cancer.

It's an amazing step forward, and definitely fits the criteria for "awesome"!

Marketplace talks with Jack Andraka about his project

CTYer Megan Sims pens columns for major metro newspaper
_{By Maria Blackburn}

CTYer and Dallas Morning News columnist Megan Sims writes with the kind of sophistication and skill you might expect from a writer at a Pulitzer Prize-winning daily newspaper.

Her columns are smart. They’re insightful. They’re memorable.

And when you learn they’ve been crafted by 16-year-old high school sophomore, they’re even more impressive...Click here to read more.

CTYOnline students and parents nominate instructors
_{By Maria Blackburn}

Every year students from CTY’s online courses – and their parents – nominate instructors for their excellence in teaching. This year, CTYOnline received 398 nominations for 137 instructors. Nine teachers were selected to receive the 2011 Outstanding Instructor Award from CTYOnline for their work educating our students in courses ranging from Algebra to Biology to Writing.

One CTYOnline student wrote that her award-winning language arts instructor “stretched our limits to the brink and challenged us intellectually...Click here to read more.

Museum of Mathematics has a CTY flavor
_{By Matt Bowden}

John Overdeck and Glen Whitney have more than a little bit in common. Overdeck studied math at CTY in the 80's—then taught Math Logic at CTY for a few years. And Whitney, who also studied math at CTY in the 80's, is readying the Museum of Mathematics (MoMath) for its December 2012 opening...Click here to read more.

CTYer "moves the earth"
_{By Matt Bowden}

_{Video: Matt Bowden | CTY Communications}

Before he was a PhD candidate in astrophysics at MIT, Adrian Liu was a CTYer...Click here to read more.