Young Researchers, Real Questions in SSIS's Journal of Emerging Scientists

Students in SSIS's Independent Scientific Research (ISR) course don't just write research papers — they publish them. Launched last year, the Journal of Emerging Scientists is the school's own research publication, and this spring it arrives in print for the first time.

This edition brings together fourteen students' investigations, each with questions drawn from their lived experiences. From a scraped knee on the sports field and a long recovery from injury, to an observation about how money feels different when you pay with a card, this journal gives students a place to showcase their original research.

Each paper is the result of months of independent work: designing experiments, collecting and analyzing data, wrestling with uncertainty, and writing with the precision and honesty that real scientific inquiry demands.

When Personal Curiosity Becomes Independent Scientific Research

What makes the Journal of Emerging Scientists meaningful is where every project begins: with a personal question.

Ngan's starting point was her wardrobe. Growing up in a family connected to the fashion industry, she wanted to know whether fast fashion could ever be truly sustainable, so she set about testing fabrics like cotton, linen, and polyester through composting trials. "I really love fashion," she said, "and growing up in a family that did business in that industry really influenced me to make it more sustainable for the future."

Minh-Khang (MK) came to his question from a very different place. After a serious long-term injury left him grappling with anxiety about recovery, he designed a study examining the psychological and social impact of sports injuries on high school athletes. "I had a lot of negative thoughts about how I was going to recover," he reflected. "That was a big motivator."

For Chun Yu, curiosity was sparked through observing the world shifting around him. "There are a lot more digital transactions happening compared to physical transactions," he explained. "I wanted to explore whether the value of money could be losing significance psychologically, even though it's not changing monetarily."

Bao Anh's inspiration came from a lifelong love of nature, which led her to investigate how to mitigate the effects of acidic soil on plant species. "People in society don't usually expect younger people to have this level of professionalism," she reflected. "But this gives us a chance to gain some experience and knowledge for our future careers or interests."

Across the journal's fourteen research papers, the same pattern holds: a student notices something, cares about it, and decides to investigate it seriously.

The Research Process: Fourteen Students, Fourteen Real Investigations

The Independent Scientific Research course at SSIS is open to students in Grades 10–12, and the range of topics reflects just how broadly the program defines science. This year's class had only seniors, and the investigations ranged from regenerative cooling systems for hypersonic aircraft to the aerodynamic effects of rainfall on fixed-wing planes to soft robotics to the psychological effects of sports drink composition on athletic performance.

None of it was straightforward, and the students are candid about that. Some encountered repeated simulation failures and had to methodically refine parameters before obtaining stable results. Others faced the challenge of holding participants to assigned dietary conditions, or ran into sample sizes too small for statistical significance, or had to learn mid-study to identify and avoid self-selection bias in their data.

These moments of difficulty are, in many ways, the education. As the journal's foreword notes, students encountered "the realities of authentic inquiry: uncertainty, imperfect methods, unexpected results, limitations, and the need to make careful decisions based on evidence rather than assumptions."

What Being Published Means for Student Researchers

For many of these students, seeing their name in a published journal is more than a milestone. It is a shift in how they see themselves.

"I think it gives a voice to people that aren't as heard," Ngan said, "and documents not only established published work but also people who did their own research."

The sentiment was shared widely across the cohort. For some, the hope is that their findings reach a specific audience — athletes dealing with injury, teenagers spending more carelessly with digital payments, and farmers working with difficult soil. For others, it is simply about contributing something honest to a conversation that will continue long after they graduate.

A Growing Culture of Inquiry at SSIS

This edition of the Journal of Emerging Scientists, and the program it represents, is still taking shape. Last year's inaugural issue was a quiet launch, a proof of concept. But even then, faculty and students alike were impressed with the level of research and results, and with what students are capable of when trusted with real questions and real tools.

As these emerging scientists head off to university this fall, studying everything from aerospace engineering at UC Irvine to kinesiology at the University of Virginia to food science at Purdue, they will be carrying more than a line on their transcript.

They are carrying the experience of having sat with a hard question, followed it honestly, and left something behind for others to build on.

This edition of the Journal of Emerging Scientists features research by SSIS seniors Minh-Khang, Brian, Ngan, Jolie, Bao-Anh, Tristan, Jeremy, Chun Yu, Nam, Khang, Ha Trung, Angela, Huichan, and Michael (who is featured in the cover image).