January 1999
For Immediate Release, Press Release
For comment, contact Brenda Buschbacher at
(630) 907-5033
(Media Advisory: To interview Keith Winstein contact Brenda Buschbacher. Information on Keith’s research project can be accessed at http://alumni.imsa.edu/~keithw/tlex/)
AURORA-- This week, Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy® (IMSA) senior Keith Winstein of Oak Park has been named one of the 40 national finalists in the Intel Science Talent Search Competition. Winstein, the only finalist from Illinois, now will compete for $330,000 in scholarships from the Intel Foundation.
Finalists will attend the six-day Science Talent Institute in Washington, D.C. March 3-8 where they will be judged by top scientists from a variety of disciplines. The top ten scholarship winners will be announced at an awards ceremony.
Winstein is the son of Bruce and Joan Winstein of Oak Park. Winstein’s award-winning research project is entitled Lexical Steganography Through Adaptive Modulation of the Word Choice Hash. Steganography is an established field concerned with undetectably encoding (that is, hiding) information within larger blocks of data.
A photographer may use a steganographic procedure on his/her images to track if they are copied. Most current approaches to the hiding of data in blocks of text are concerned with the physical appearance of text on the page; however, these techniques lack durability. Winstein’s technique of "Lexical Steganography" encodes data by actually changing the words used in a block of text, thus making encoded information harder both to detect and remove. For more information, including text of Keith’s research paper, see http://www.imsa.edu/~keithw/tlex.
In the Intel competition, primary emphasis is placed on a written report of an independent science, mathematics or engineering research project. An entry form, designed to elicit evidence of creativity and interest in science, also is required, along with a high school transcript, recommendations and standardized test scores.
Intel assumed sponsorship of this 58-year-old national science competition for U.S. high school seniors from Westinghouse Electric Corporation in 1998. Intel, the world’s largest chip maker, is also a leading manufacturer of computer, networking and communications products.
Winstein plans to attend college in the fall to pursue a computer science degree with an emphasis on artificial intelligence and natural language processing.
Winstein is IMSA’s fourth finalist in this pretigious competition. Other IMSA finalists included Rowan Lockwood ’89, Elizabeth Pine ’93 and Travis Schedler ’98.
Located in Aurora, Illinois, the Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy® (IMSA) is an internationally-recognized pioneering educational institution created by the State to develop talent and stimulate excellence in teaching and learning in mathematics, science and technology. IMSA's advanced residential college preparatory program enrolls 650 academically talented Illinois students in grades 10-12. More than 14,000 teachers and 20,000 students in Illinois and beyond have benefited from IMSA's professional development and enrichment programs. IMSA serves the people of Illinois through innovative instructional programs, public and private partnerships, policy leadership and action research.