Benjamen Chang Sun
North Dakota
Benjamen Chang Sun, 17, from Grand Forks, entered the Intel Science Talent
Search with an environmental science project focused on how dirt and debris in
the street interact with rainwater. One of the first to conduct such a study
using street particles, Ben found that the dirt's particle size altered how
effectively it removed contaminants such as lead, chromium and arsenic from the
water, and that most contaminant adsorption occurred within five seconds. He
also studied how some of the contaminants could later be leached from the
particles by uncontaminated water, and found that the particles had a limited
capacity to adsorb metal contaminants. He has been studying water quality on his
own for four years and is a state winner of the National Stockholm Junior Water
Prize. Ben is the son of Michael and Jenny Sun, has co-authored both a published
paper and a book chapter on nanoparticles, and is an accomplished violinist and
concertmaster. As a Red River High School award winner for his considerable
community service, Ben initiated a water quality awareness program for hometown
youth. He hopes to attend Harvard or Stanford.
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