59th Annual STS (1999–2000)
Finalists
Adam Scott Kahn

NEW YORK
Adam Scott Kahn, 17, of Briarcliff Manor, investigated antibiotic-resistant bacteria for his medicine project in the Intel Science Talent Search, concluding that antiobiotic resistance is a trend that will continue regardless of the public's use of antibiotics. Using a combination of applied mathematics, computer simulations and microbiology, Adam studied the mechanism by which bacteria become resistant. He investigated bacteria colonies, where antibiotic-resistant genes originate on a structure called a plasmid. The resulting computer simulations show that if the resistance genes appear on the plasmid, the population almost always becomes completely resistant within a relatively short period of time. First in his class of 87 at Hackley School in Tarrytown, Adam is captain of the math team, senior editor of the literary magazine, editor-in-chief of the yearbook, managing editor of the newspaper and official statistician for several varsity sports. A grand prize winner of the USA Mathematics Talent Search, Adam is the son of James and Barbara Kahn and hopes to study computer science and mathematics at MIT.