Central Student Receives Award of Excellence as Future Science and Tech Leader

Evan Rofe’s summer was pretty incredible, considering it kicked off surrounded by some of the world’s leaders in science and technology.

Rofe, 16, is a junior at West Morris Central High School who successfully completed the National Academies Congress of Future Science and Technology Leaders held in Boston, Massachusetts.

As a result, Rofe received an Award of Excellence.

According to the school, Rofe’s experience included:

Highlights of Mr. Rofé’s experience include meeting many amazing and intelligent students with whom he still maintains friendships; obtaining valuable programming advice fro.m science and technology prodigy, Kensen Shi, Grand Prize Winner of the 2012 Siemens Competition in Math, Science and Technology; personally speaking with David Wineland, Ph.D., winner of the 2012 Nobel Prize in Physics and the 2007 National Medal of Science, about particle physics; and, having the ability to visit the areas surrounding Boston and Lowell with his fellow colleagues.

At the conference, Evan was joined by fellow high school students who share his passion, ability and potential. Students were personally taught by some of the greatest living minds in science and technology including the aforementioned Dr. David Wineland; John C. Mather, Ph.D., winner of the 2006 Nobel Prize in Physics; Cherry A. Murray, Ph.D., Dean of Harvard University’s School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (2009-2014) and recipient of the National Medal of Technology and Innovation; Dean Kamen, recipient of the National Medal of Technology and Innovation and legendary inventor of the Segway and the first drug infusion pump; Dennis Crowley, CEO and co-founder of Foursquare; and, Bill Westenhofer, two-time Academy Award Winner for Best Visual Effects for Chronicles of Narnia and Life of Pi, visual effects supervisor for the World of Warcraft movie.

Evan was also inspired by new prodigies who are leading the future of science and technology, including, Mr. Shi; Jack Andraka, Grand Prize Winner of the 2012 Intel Science Fair, breakthrough inventor, scientist and cancer researcher; Shree Bose, Grand Prize Winner of the 2011 Google Science Fair; Joshua Meier, Best in Category for Cellular and Molecular Biology at the 2014 Intel International Science Fair and a Finalist at the 2012 Google Science Fair; and, Jacob Barnett, the youngest person admitted to the Perimeter Scholars International Master’s Program and the world’s youngest astrophysics researcher. Evan felt such a rewarding and positive impact from his experience and hopes to attend the conference again in June 2016.

Pictured: West Morris Central Principal, Mr. Steve Ryan, presents Evan Rofé with an Award of Excellence from the National Academies Congress of Future Science and Technology Leaders. Photo Courtesy West Morris Central