WESTMINSTER : Her Curiosity Is Down to a Science, Which Makes Research Rewarding

Driven by natural curiosity and a desire to understand, Illeana Carpen, 17, always knew she was suited for research. But she didn’t know how well until just recently.

A senior at La Quinta High School, Illeana has received an invitation to present her findings on plant mutations at the American Junior Academy of Science next month in Atlanta. She is one of 18 Southern California students to win the honor, said Alan Trudell, spokesman for the Garden Grove Unified School District.

“It’s great. It feels really nice” to be invited, she said.

Her research paper, “Mechanisms of Stress Tolerance in Arabidopsis thaliana ,” detailed her two-month investigation of a plant species’ reaction to varying levels of ultraviolet radiation and salt in the soil. In experiments, she identified certain plant mutations that conferred higher tolerance for salty soil conditions. The findings could help point to methods of improving crop yields.

Illeana completed her paper last year through the Cal State Young Scholars student research program funded by the National Science Foundation. Her presentation of findings won her an invitation to the national science conference, she said.

She added that she enjoyed research because “you get to find out things that you didn’t know before. I had no idea what research was all about before I got in (the Young Scholars) program. It gave me a chance to see what I could do.”

Illeana said she looked forward to the conference, but not only because of the opportunity to present her data.

For three days, she pointed out, “I get to get out of school.”

Illeana said she plans to attend either Caltech, MIT or Stanford and study biochemistry. Earlier this year, she scored in the top 36 of about 105,000 people to take the Preliminary Scholastic Assessment Test.