Zein Nakhoda, Valedictorian in the LHHS Class of 2007, now attends Swarthmore College. Photo courtesy of LHHS.
When Zein Nakhoda graduated from Lake Highlands High School in 2007, he was excited about broadening his horizons and starting school at far-away Swarthmore College in Pennsylvania. He has enjoyed his time spent getting to know new friends and new teachers, but he also kept in close contact with AP science teacher Dr. Ken Taylor of LHHS. In February’s issue of The Physics Teacher magazine, the two present a joint paper, written in collaboration since Zein’s high school graduation.
The paper, entitled “Effective Torsion and Spring Constants in a Hybrid Translational-Rotational Oscillator” (it’s all I could do to spell it correctly, there’s no hope of me explaining it here), credits Zein as the first author and Dr. Taylor as the second, indicating the significance of the student’s role in performing the experiments, performing the advanced mathematical calculations and writing the manuscript. According to Dr. Taylor, he and Zein developed a working relationship much like that of a university graduate advisor and his student, with constant feedback and interaction to keep the project on track. Acceptance for publication into the peer-reviewed magazine was a considerable accomplishment, and is a realistic goal for other highly-motivated students throughout RISD, says Dr. Taylor.
Most of the rest of us here in LH will just have to take Dr. Taylor’s word for it. But then again, we knew Zein was smart. We heard his wonderful Valedictory address at graduation.
“I have never seen anyone with the erudition and motivation that Zein has,” Dr. Taylor told me. “He delayed college for one year while he pursued a variety of interests, including travel and volunteer work in New Orleans. He was truly an amazing student to work with.”
Congratulations, Zein!
