Li Boynton, 18, a senior at Bellaire High School, says meeting the
president and first lady on Wednesday will top the stack of academic
honors she has accumulated.
By ALLAN TURNER
Houston Chronicle
Jan. 26, 2010, 9:06AM
Melissa Phillip Chronicle
In the fifth grade, Li Boynton, inspired by the hardships of the shipwrecked protagonist of Yann Martel's novel The Life of Pi, built a device that removed salt from seawater. In the 11th grade, moved by the plight of the world's poor, she created a cheap method of testing for water contaminants using glowing bacteria.
Along the way, the Bellaire High School senior racked up $50,000 in college scholarships, won top honors in the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair, became a semifinalist in Intel's Science Talent Search and was accepted to Yale University.
So, where does the brainy 18-year-old go from here? To Washington, D.C., naturally, where she has been invited to sit with first lady Michelle Obama during Wednesday's State of the Union address. Also Wednesday, she will learn whether she has advanced to the finals of the science talent search, the nation's most prestigious high school science honor.
On Monday, Boynton, a former high school newspaper editor, basked in the media glow of her celebrity. “I'm really nervous,” she said of her upcoming meeting with the first lady. “I don't know much about politics, and I'm afraid I'll say something stupid. I do that when I'm nervous. And I'm not very coordinated.”
Inspirational story
Such concerns seem unwarranted, though, to those who know her.
Biology teacher Anna Loonam, who taught Boynton as a freshman and again as a junior, called her “a top science student.” Art teacher Jo Zider has described her as “one who looks deeply into the mystery of life.” An entire class of younger science students roared their approval Monday when asked if Boynton was an inspiration.
Boynton's premier achievement as a young scientist was creation of a method to test for water pollutants by using light-generating bacteria. The student found that the microscopic organisms generated less light as the water's toxicity grew.
By placing a bacterial culture in a light-tight box with a digital camera and processing the results through a free computer program, Boynton was able to reliably and cheaply test for half a dozen common pollutants. The technology, which won top science and engineering fair honors, has potential for testing water purity in developing nations where more costly testing procedures are not an option.
Worldwide, approximately 1 billion people lack access to safe water; 3.5 million die each year as a result.
A research paper concerning the project has won her a chance at becoming a finalist in this year's science talent search.
Boynton, who hopes to become a medical doctor or researcher or both, credits her mother, Laura Luo, a financial manager; her father, John Boynton, an aeronautical engineer; and her stepfather, Robert Pearson, a computer science expert, for supporting her academic interests.
Didn't make tennis team
Accepted by Yale, Boynton recently also applied to Harvard University. She hopes for the opportunity to chat with the first lady concerning which of the Ivy League schools would serve her best.
Outside the classroom, Boynton enjoys socializing on Web social sites and shopping. Sports, she said, hold little charm. “I tried to make the tennis team,” she said, grimacing. “Physical education is one of my worst classes. I failed pushups.”
Her embarrassingly paltry PE grade? A mere A-minus.
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