STEM Symposium Showcases Student Scientists

Students put their research and work in the STEM fields on display April 19 at the annual NMH STEM Symposium in the Gilder Center. The event highlighted projects students had worked on through the year, with subjects ranging from medical research to drone technology, molecular modeling, astronomy, electromagnetism, and nanoparticle stabilization, among others.

“This is all student-organized,” said David Reeder, a science teacher and faculty advisor for the STEM Symposium. “The majority of these projects are things students explored in their own time. Through the symposium, they can connect with the other kids and get some visibility on what they’re all working on. It’s a nice way to close the year out.”

The symposium, now in its second year in its current format, was the brainchild of Rachel Huynh ’25 and the members of the NMH Science Club. 

“It's important for me to see what my other classmates are researching,” Huynh said. “When I joined Science Club, I was able to talk to more people about what they were doing. After going on college visits and seeing they have symposiums on campus, I thought it would be fun to have our own symposium.”

Unlike last year, which featured a formal schedule of presentations and speakers, the 2025 symposium struck a more casual tone. Following short overviews by each presenter, those in attendance were free to wander through the exhibits at their leisure and pose questions to the students directly.

The informal nature of the event allowed for more one-on-one interactions and gave students the chance to connect with peers on shared topics of interest without the pressure of a formal presentation.

Huynh noted that the projects on display come from students engaging with scientific work through a variety of avenues. “Some students do this work as part of a summer program; others do a capstone or work on something at school,” she said. “To see what people are doing in their free time was pretty fun.”

The exhibits, posted along the walls of the main lobby of the Gilder Center, highlighted the wide array of interests and methodologies of students involved in the sciences at NMH. Members of campus groups like For Medics, a club for students interested in healthcare professions, and the Astronomy Club spoke about their work over the past year and outlined future projects and initiatives.

Eric Zhou ’26  designed a drone flight-stabilization system to improve drone performance during inspections of buildings and objects. Zhou recently received the first-place award for math at Massachusetts Science and Engineering Fair, Inc.’s High School State Fair for his coding work in the project and will move on to the international competition in May.

“I have actually seen people doing inspections on very tall buildings when it was very windy, and I saw how dangerous that can be,” Zhou said of his inspiration for the project. “I was wondering how I can make these kinds of inspections fully automated and began doing research on drones, to see how they could conduct these inspections efficiently and safely.”

Gia Bao Le ’26 presented several projects he worked on throughout the year, based on a model of molecular treatment for cancer, Alzheimer’s disease, and other illnesses.

Le appreciated the opportunity to share his work with other students interested in similar fields. “Sometimes when doing this research, you kind of feel like giving up because it's really hard,” he said. “But when you think about the pride you have when you have the opportunity to share with everyone, it helps you to get through those moments.”

Sopi Koko ’26, one of the symposium’s presenters and organizers, said the event’s success has motivated her to expand STEM offerings on campus in the future, including working with the Science Club to open a research room where students can work and collaborate on future projects in a dedicated space.

“A lot of people here are so talented but don't necessarily have the platform to express that talent,” Koko said. “I want to really highlight presenting and making projects accessible, especially for younger students, so people aren't shying away from doing the things that they enjoy because of cost or circumstances. Doing it right in school is so perfect, because we have so much equipment and space to do a lot of things here.”

Photos by Matthew Cavanaugh Photography. See more photos on Flickr.