Wayne Hills Valedictorian Has An Affinity For Physics And Math

WAYNE, NJ — For a lot of people, math is a frustrating subject. For Eli Paul, it's mind-bending.

Paul, with a 4.67 grade point average, is valedictorian of the Wayne Hills High School Class of 2019. The subjects he most enjoys studying are math and physics.

"With math, I like the way it is mind-bending and requires a lot of creativity," Paul said. "Physics describes the real world, but it is also a blend between turning our intuitions into math, but then sometimes our intuitions show that we have to turn math into our intuitions."

Paul enjoys proof-based math and coming up with different approaches to solve equations that have not been solved yet, because, as he puts it, "anything that is easy to solve has been solved already."

Paul credits his interest in physics to one of his teachers, Erika Sherger.

"In her hands, it really came alive in a way that no other subject in high school really has," Paul said.

Paul was one of just two students in the United States last year to earn a perfect score on the Physics II Advanced Placement exam.

Paul also enjoys computer science, including deep learning, which he said is a form of artificial intelligence. He has also volunteered helping Syrian refugees with a nonprofit called G.E.R.A., which stands for Global Emergency Response and Assistance.

Paul will attend the California Institute of Technology on a scholarship in the fall. He would like to work in academia or research following college.

"I'm not sure, exactly," Paul said. "I'm fairly open to seeing what I want to pursue."

Email: daniel.hubbard@patch.com