Whiz Kid: Conestoga High School's Ligyu Zhu

A teenager from Conestoga High School has just won an award for being Pennsylvania’s top scoring male in AP math and science exams.  To date, Lingyu Zhu has taken 14 AP exams. 

Siemen's, the award's presenter, sums it up perfectly simply by saying "it’s an incredible achievement."

The Siemens Awards in Advanced Placement are granted to a boy and girl in each state who achieve the greatest number of 5s in the greatest number of math and science AP exams.  The girl winner from your state is from the Pittsburgh area.  Siemens also honors the boy and girl who are the top scorers in the nation.  This year’s winners are from California.

Award Details

Encouraging students to pursue academic careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) is a national priority.  Students who take AP math and science courses major in STEM fields at significantly higher rates than other students, according to the study, “AP Students in College:  An Analysis of Five-Year Academic Careers,” released by the College Board in 2007.  Student participation in AP science and mathematics courses grew 7.2 percent to 733,631 students from 2010 to 2011.

For a complete list of winners and to view multimedia assets associated with this release, please click: http://www.multivu.com/mnr/54202-siemens-foundation-math-science-advanced-placement-awards. Follow the Siemens Foundation on Twitter (www.twitter.com/sfoundation) and Facebook (www.facebook.com/SiemensFoundation).

The Siemens Awards for Advanced Placement

Established in 1998, the Siemens Awards for Advanced Placement (http://www.siemens-foundation.org/en/advanced_placement.htm) award $2,000 college scholarships to students from each of the 50 states who have earned the greatest number of scores of 5 on exams in the following AP courses:  Biology, Calculus BC, Chemistry, Computer Science A, Environmental Science, Statistics, Physics C Mechanics and Physics C Electricity and Magnetism.  Each state potentially has two winners, one male and one female.  Two additional national winners (one male, one female) are awarded a $5,000 college scholarship.