Introducing the 2025 High School Summer Research Cohort
This year’s high school summer research cohort is made up of seventeen students who will each conduct research with one of five faculty mentors. They will spend five weeks diving into topics at the intersection of math and politics. We look forward to seeing all they accomplish!
Siddhi Bharadwaj is a rising senior at Pleasant Valley High School in Iowa. She has always enjoyed math and social studies and is excited to explore the intersection of these fascinating subjects this summer. She is interested in public health and is currently working to raise awareness about iron-deficiency in women. She can’t wait to embark on this journey with IMD!
Boston Bulis is a rising senior at Newton South High School in Massachusetts with a passion for government, reducing political polarization, and understanding how policy and legislation impact different communities. They love all things math and are especially excited to explore its applications in real-world, democratic issues. On weekends, Boston enjoys researching and debating a range of topics with their high school’s debate team (PF). They’re particularly interested in number theory and group theory, and how abstract math connects to systems of governance. This summer, Boston is thrilled to be pursuing research at IMD, and is passionate about exploring the intersection of mathematics, politics, and democracy. In their free time, they enjoy throwing pottery and making short films.
Aditya Chiduruppa is a rising senior at Lexington High School in Massachusetts. He is drawn to mathematical and machine learning methods that tackle real-world problems, especially in areas where data-driven decisions shape society. At IMD, Adi looks forward to exploring the use of computational research methods to help strengthen democratic systems in ways that promote fairness and access.
Alexandra Cirino is a rising junior at Shorecrest Preparatory School. As someone passionate about both mathematics and social justice, Alex is excited to explore how quantitative tools can support more equitable democratic systems. She serves as the president of her school’s feminism club, where she leads discussions and initiatives focused on gender equity and civic awareness. Through the Institute for Mathematics and Democracy’s summer program, she hopes to connect her interest in advocacy with data-driven research that informs real-world change.
Truman Edell is from New York, New York. He is an American patriot and history buff, spending his summers interning at Congress in DC, where he worked on tax and educational access policy as well as taking college-level math-driven, public policy coursework. During the school year, while enrolled at The Ramaz School, his free time is spent working with those in need through UJA’s PACT program, at swim and krav maga practice or editing a novel he wrote with his best friend. Fun fact: Truman is a certified deep, open-water scuba rescue diver (like an underwater emergency medical technician).
Erik Hill is a rising freshman at Rice University where he plans to double major in computational applied mathematics and economics. He is passionate about finding ways to use rigorous mathematical methods to approach real-world problems. He aspires to pursue a career in research where he can continue to use his mathematical abilities to benefit humanity.
Jeev Hora is a rising Illinois senior interested in math, statistics and social science. He’s always been interested in these fields, and wants to explore their intersection through IMD. At IMD, he’s interested in being with a community of like-minded peers who want to use the mathematical and statistical sciences for good.
Gabby Licayan is a rising senior at Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology in Alexandria, Virginia with a strong passion in politics, civic engagement, and public policy. They are excited to explore how data and mathematics can be used to strengthen democracy and drive positive change in our society, specifically in policy-making.
Rohan Licht is a rising senior at Belmont High School in Massachusetts. Rohan is excited to research the intersection of math and politics at IMD. Politics are usually seen as very subjective, and applying math to politics in order to better understand certain processes and decisions is a fascinating way to remove some of the ambiguity that comes with studying something like politics.
Serena Pallan is a junior from Baltimore, Maryland, and this is her third year with the Institute of Math and Democracy! Serena’s research at IMD is focused on exploring generalizations of Condorcet paradoxes within voting sets that follow a one-dimensional spatial structure.
Rishan Paul is a rising senior at Eastlake High School in Sammamish, Washington. He has always had a deep passion for politics and mathematics, and he is ecstatic to combine the two interests into one. He has been hooked on both since he watched a political debate and did a simple addition problem. He hopes to use what he has learned from this program to develop his understanding of how data shapes policy decisions, voter behavior, and campaign strategies. He is incredibly grateful and excited to work with the IMD program to meet new people and research more about this rising field.
Ananya Shah is a rising senior at Edgemont Junior-Senior High School in New York. Her current research focuses on using mathematics, specifically using persistent homology to compare precinct and district level voting data to quantify gerrymandering in the United States At IMD, she is excited about collaborating with other individuals who are also interested in the fascinating connection between mathematics and democracy.
Ryan Singh is a rising senior at Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology in Alexandria, Virginia. He has always taken an interest in numbers and math, and aspires to understand their relationship with behavioral phenomena and influences on public policy. He is excited to work under IMD to “use experiences in research and mathematics to work towards solving nationwide, real-world problems, starting from the root sources of human hope: government, politics, and democracy.”
Tanya Verma is a rising senior at Riverdale Country School. She has always been interested in applied math and statistics, as well as history, politics, and current events, and believes that there is a need for more statistics-based policy in today’s government. She is ecstatic to join IMD and use math to create real-world changes.
Brandon Wu is a rising senior at St. John’s School in Houston, Texas. He is interested in the intersection of applied mathematics and government, particularly in areas such as democratic representation, legislation, and animal welfare. He looks forward to collaborating on research that applies math to public policy issues at IMD this summer.
Yuegelica Yeong is a rising senior from Austin, Texas. She is incredibly passionate about both mathematics and politics and is eager to explore their intersection this summer. At IMD, she is looking forward to applying mathematical techniques to solve real-world policy problems, utilizing real-data to research aspects of the government, and analyzing challenges that our democracy faces today.
Michelle Zuo is a rising senior at Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology in Alexandria, Virginia. She has always been interested in math and in using math to solve real-world public policy issues. At IMD, she hopes to conduct research that uses applied math and complex models to help make impactful decisions in the field of democracy.
IMD is excited to host these students and supervise their research this summer. Stay tuned for more updates about the program!
