Airplane Wing Design Has Alhambra Student Flying High : Education: High school senior Wally Huang earns a $1,500 scholarship in a competition honoring original, innovative science projects.

Wally Huang is a young man in perpetual motion--the type of high school student who spryly bounces from the science lab to the track field, from graduation day to college.

Articulate and well-rounded, his most vexing dilemma could be the envy of any 17-year-old: Stanford or UCLA next year? Harvey Mudd or Cal?

Given his options after years of exemplary scholarship, Huang could simply coast through the twilight of his late adolescence. Instead, he flew to Chicago last week to present scientific research on how to improve airplane wing design. The Alhambra High School senior competed against nine other gizmo-inventing teen-agers who similarly detailed and defended findings before a panel of high school science instructors. He came in a finalist, winning a $1,500 scholarship.

“I actually submitted this project (to judges) two years ago, but it was before I’d finished,” Huang said. “So I was rather surprised that they were interested this year. This hasn’t been the sole focus of my research career, but I’m very happy that they’ve recognized what I’ve done.”

Alhambra High School boasts a number of former students who have made it to the elite Thomas Edison-Max McGraw Scholarship Program, an annual contest staged by the National Science Education Leadership Assn. It casts attention on the year’s most original, innovative science projects from high school students across the nation and the world.

“Wally is an excellent communicator,” said Duane Nichols, an Alhambra High science instructor who traveled east with his pupil. “His presentations are well-done, and (he’s) an excellent writer. He’s very creative and expressive.”

Building on previous college-level research, Huang proposed a modified airplane wing design that cuts drag and increases lift, thereby reducing the chance an ascending aircraft would choke, sputter and plummet. His 10-inch model, tested recently in USC’s wind tunnel, would have to undergo many more analyses before its true scientific merit could be weighed, he said.

Indeed, Huang has assisted in six university-level science studies undertaken in elite college programs that allowed him to work side-by-side with graduate researchers. He has essentially created some programs on his own.

“He just showed up here at USC and . . knocked on many doors,” said Harvey R. Kaslow, a physician in the USC physiology department who has been working with Huang on a medical project since October. “At first, I was extremely skeptical. (But) he really has chutzpah and attention span. If he’s any indication of what (high school students) can do, I’m ready for more.”

Huang’s eclectic pursuits give his modern-day resume a Renaissance flavor. Over time, he has attained an Eagle Scout badge, studied six years of piano and become an apprentice in the ancient art of Chinese watercolor painting.

“It allows me to be creative, and vent anger,” he said with a laugh.