Franklin Awarded Scholars 2025

Franklin Academy is proud to recognize the Franklin Awarded Scholars 2025, an exceptional group of student researchers whose work reflects intellectual curiosity, academic initiative, creativity, and a commitment to meaningful scholarly inquiry.

Throughout their research journey, these students explored complex questions across science, technology, engineering, mathematics, business, economics, psychology, social science, humanities, and interdisciplinary fields. Their projects demonstrate how students can move beyond traditional classroom learning to investigate real-world issues through research, experimentation, data analysis, critical thinking, and academic writing.

Selected student research has been published in the 2025 Journal of Quantitative and Qualitative Research, presented across three volumes. Together, these works showcase the breadth of student interests and the dedication required to transform an initial research question into a completed scholarly paper.

Zihan Xu
Understanding the Factors Related Bullying in Schools

Patrick Su
Analyses of Fashion Interest, Brand Image, and Consumer Behavior

Sean Liang
An Analysis of Bridges v. Wixon and Its Modern Implications

Jayden Yang
Evaluating Cultural Diversity Practices in Small Businesses: A Survey-Based Analysis of Inclusivity and Innovation

Alex Zhu
Breaking Communication Barriers: Developing a First-Person Wearable Translator for American Sign Language and Speech

Justin Chow
Genetic Barcoding of Pomegranate Cultivars Using the matK Gene

Boya Xiao
How Social and Psychological Factors Are Related to Ecological Anxiety

William Liang
Order Doesn’t Matter: A Property of Word Embedding Models

Anna Fang
Generation Z’s Opinions and Perspectives on Genetic Technologies: Social Implications

Chuhan Kong
Analyzing the Characteristics of Successful Dance-Music Videos

Liliana Song
Lung Cancer Awareness Among Adolescents: A Study of Knowledge and Perception

Nathan Xu
Financial Literacy Among Veterans

William Peng
AI in Couple’s Therapy: The Potential of Machine Learning in Providing Relationship Advice

Zoey Hsu
The Relationships Among Social Media, Psychology, and Mental Health

Zhiying Yin
The Statistical Testing and the Mathematical Modeling of Motivation

Aryan Ganesh
AI-Powered Vision System for Enhanced Spatial Navigation of the Visually Impaired

Zijun Huang
Mandarin, English, and Bilingual Speakers’ Perceptions of Mammal Pairs

Joy Tan
Psychology, Art, and Education: Analyzing the Drawings of Ukrainian and Non-Ukrainian Students in Poland

Matthew Liu
Analysis of NCBI Human Omics Data Provides Insight into Advancements of Human Genomics Study

Elaine Chen
In Situ Monitoring of Toluene, Acetone, and Formaldehyde Emissions During Nail Polish Application Using IoT-Based Sensors

Xiaotao Fan
The Brand Image and the Perception of Vehicles

Jingze Dai
Evaluating Machine Learning Approaches for Predicting Mental Health Issues in UC Irvine Undergraduates: Challenges and Insights

Jason Sun
Mathematical Frameworks for Financial Fluency: Modeling Financial Literacy in Immigrant and Hispanic Youth

Xinhe Zhang
Source-Specific PM2.5 and Asthma Emergency Department Visits: The Role of Power Plants, Construction Sites, and Roadways in New York City

Shuran (Kevin) Yang
MusicAlzheimer: AI-Powered Culturally-Tailored Music Therapy System for Alzheimer’s Disease Care

Jiayi Hu
Bridging the Digital Divide: E-Commerce Participation Among Older Adults in Rural Communities

Shicheng (Leo) Ge
The True Impact of the Marshall Plan: Rethinking Germany’s Recovery

Emily Lin
How Did Cold War Anxieties Influence the Themes and Narratives of American and European Theater Productions?

Jasmine Lin
Comparison of Machine Learning Models for Remaining Useful Life Predictions in Bearing Systems

William (Chenwei) Zhang
TLR4-Targeted Small Molecules for Alzheimer’s Disease

Keyi Yu
Modeling Borrower Stability in Microfinance Using Markov Chains and Stochastic Noise

Rachel Yuan
From Seoul to the World

Jiatian (Tom) Liu
Ultrafiltration Membranes Performances for Removal of Organic Compounds and Particles from Complex Daily Beverages

Pengyu (Mikey) Zhao
From Single Loci to Genomic Futures: Maximum Likelihood Phylogeny of Punica granatum Cultivars Using matK Sequences

Maggie Hou
The Social Transfer of Pain: Applying Single-Cell RNA Sequencing and MERFISH in Mouse AAV Model

Zhuoyan (Kelly) Huang

The Relationships Among Gross Domestic Product, Mental-Health Resource, and Lifespan

Rainie Yao

IDO1 Virtual Screening: Identifying Small Molecules as Cancer Immunotherapies

Lujia Chen
Comparison of Different Rocket Fuel and Oxidizer Mixtures and How They Affect Rocket Engine Thrust

Xiong Yin
Examining the Relationship Between Return on Equity and Return on Assets as Indicators of Corporate Longevity

Cayden Shi
A Unified Design and Evaluation Framework for Liquid Rocket Engines Incorporating Environmental and Economic Tradeoffs

Kevin Liu and Austin Wei
Quantifying Ballot Redistribution Turbulence in Ranked-Choice Voting Through Classical and Tropical Wasserstein Distances

Zhiying (Michelle) Yin

Predicting Residential Property Values in San Marino Using a Multivariable Regression Model

Research asks students to do something fundamentally different from simply learning established information. It challenges them to identify meaningful questions, investigate what is already known, evaluate evidence, select appropriate methods, interpret findings, and communicate their ideas clearly.

For high school students, completing an independent research project can be an especially valuable academic experience. The process develops skills that extend across disciplines, including critical thinking, problem-solving, academic writing, data analysis, research methodology, communication, and intellectual independence.

The Franklin Awarded Scholars 2025 demonstrate what students can accomplish when curiosity is combined with structured research and sustained effort. Their projects address questions with scientific, technological, economic, social, cultural, and practical significance while reflecting each student’s individual academic interests.

One of the defining strengths of the 2025 research collection is its extraordinary range of subjects.

Students investigated topics across artificial intelligence, machine learning, biomedical science, genetics, aerospace engineering, environmental science, psychology, public health, economics, finance, business, law, language, media, culture, and social issues.

Some students designed and evaluated technological systems. Others analyzed biological or environmental data, studied human behavior, investigated financial and economic patterns, or examined historical, legal, and cultural questions.

The 2025 research collection includes work involving:

• Artificial intelligence and machine learning
• Assistive technology and accessibility
• Biomedical research and drug discovery
• Genetics and genomics
• Aerospace and rocket engineering
• Environmental science and air quality
• Psychology and mental health
• Public health and healthcare
• Economics and financial modeling
• Business and consumer behavior
• Mathematics and statistical modeling
• Language and communication
• History, law, and public policy
• Media, culture, and society

The diversity of these projects reflects the idea that meaningful research is not limited to one academic discipline. Whether students are interested in engineering, biology, computer science, business, psychology, or the humanities, research gives them a framework for transforming curiosity into structured academic investigation.

Every research project begins with a question.

Transforming that question into a scholarly paper, however, requires much more. Students must learn how to define the scope of their investigation, review relevant literature, develop research methods, collect or analyze information, interpret results, recognize limitations, and present their conclusions in a clear academic format.

The projects represented in the 2025 Journal of Quantitative and Qualitative Research demonstrate this complete research process.

For example, students explored the application of artificial intelligence to assistive technology and healthcare, investigated genetic and molecular questions, developed mathematical and financial models, studied environmental and public-health issues, and examined questions involving psychology, business, law, culture, and society.

Many projects also required students to work with advanced tools and methodologies, including machine learning models, computational simulations, statistical analysis, genomic data, surveys, laboratory or sensor-based measurements, and quantitative modeling.

The publication of these papers represents the culmination of months of questioning, investigation, analysis, revision, and academic growth.

The Journal of Quantitative and Qualitative Research provides a platform for showcasing student research across a wide variety of academic disciplines.

The 2025 collection is presented across three volumes and reflects the interdisciplinary nature of student inquiry. The papers range from scientific and technological research to business, economics, psychology, humanities, and social-science investigations.

Rather than focusing on a single subject area, the journal highlights a common research process: asking important questions, examining evidence, applying appropriate methods, and communicating findings through scholarly writing.

Together, the three 2025 volumes represent an impressive collection of student-led academic inquiry.

Want to read the complete research papers featured on this page?

The 2025 Journal of Quantitative and Qualitative Research is published in three volumes, featuring student research across science, technology, engineering, mathematics, business, economics, psychology, humanities, and social sciences.

Readers can explore the full publications below to learn more about each student’s research question, methodology, analysis, findings, and conclusions.

Volume 1
Explore student research across topics including artificial intelligence, genetics, psychology, consumer behavior, public health, environmental science, finance, and social science.
View Volume 1 PDF

Volume 2
Explore research in artificial intelligence, machine learning, Alzheimer’s disease, economics, history, biotechnology, microfinance, cultural studies, and related fields.
View Volume 2 PDF

Volume 3
Explore research in aerospace engineering, finance, mathematical modeling, and other advanced quantitative research topics.
View Volume 3 PDF

Each volume contains the complete research papers written by the student scholars recognized above.

Franklin Academy congratulates all students recognized as Franklin Awarded Scholars 2025.

Each research paper represents far more than a final document. Behind every project are questions, challenges, discoveries, revisions, and countless decisions that gradually transformed an idea into a completed piece of scholarly work.

These students have demonstrated curiosity, persistence, creativity, and a willingness to engage seriously with complex academic questions.

We are proud to recognize their achievements and celebrate the research represented in the 2025 volumes of the Journal of Quantitative and Qualitative Research.

Congratulations to the Franklin Awarded Scholars 2025. We look forward to seeing where their curiosity, research experience, and academic journeys take them next.