In high school, Michael Martini impressed his teachers with his exceptional talents and his passionate curiosity about science. Now a senior majoring in physics at Rochester Institute of Technology, Martini continues to distinguish himself in the same vein. He holds an RIT Presidential Scholarship and he has received the Norman A. Miles Award for Excellence in Academic Study, given each year to the top-performing student at RIT. In addition, he was named a Goldwater Scholar, one of only 278 nationwide. The Goldwater Scholarship carries great prestige in the world of math and science, and is widely acknowledged at colleges across the country as the premier undergraduate award of its type.
The purpose of the Goldwater Foundation is to identify and encourage highly talented students to pursue careers in math, science, and engineering. Martini is especially well-suited for such a career. He has been working on independent scientific research since he was in high school. During the summer of 2005, before his senior year at ARHS, Martini worked with University of Massachusetts Physics Professor Narayanan Menon to study Random Loose Packing of Uniform Spheres. Menon remembers Martini’s "tremendous common sense and good judgment" and sees him as "headed for genuine accomplishment in science." Martini wrote a paper reporting the results of his research, which was submitted to the Intel Science Talent Search. He was one of 8 students in Massachusetts selected as a semi-finalist in the 2006 search. The research lives on in the physics department at UMass, where a senior physics major has taken it further for an undergraduate thesis and a graduate student is pursuing a PhD in the field. Eventually, the research will be published, with Martini’s name on the paper. Menon quips, "Not bad for a high school summer project, don’t you think?"
Martini has continued to be involved with research projects during his undergraduate years. During the summer of 2007, he worked with a professor from Western New England College on major numerical research on twisted maps, nonlinear dynamical systems, and transition to chaos. This research, relevant to the stable operation of future fusion reactors, was presented at several conferences and is in the process of publication. During the summer of 2008, Martini collaborated with several RIT professors on numerical and theoretical modeling of the molecular properties of eye lens proteins that are involved in cataract formation. He is now continuing to work on that project for his senior physics capstone research at RIT. RIT physics professor George Thurston has served as a mentor to Martini and writes "We are all delighted to have the opportunity to work with Michael. Not only is he an excellent student, he is determined to learn about the fundamental molecular basis of important problems, and he combines his abilities with perseverance, integrity, and a refreshing humility."
As his research projects demonstrate, Martini has a wide range of interests and talents. In addition to majoring in physics at RIT, he is also concentrating on studies of mathematics and German, while also playing flute in the RIT orchestra. RIT was his first choice college and it has turned out to be a very good fit for him. He liked the idea of a large school with a small program in physics. "I felt I would have more of an opportunity to work directly with professors and that has turned out to be true." He also admits that he believed a technical school would not require as much study of English, which is not his strongest interest. "That backfired on me!" he laughs. Even so, he recognizes the importance of learning how to communicate. As a scientist, he says, "It is very important to learn how to share your idea."
Mathematics has always held a special appeal for Martini. "I loved being on math team in high school," he recounts. "It was something to keep my brain going. You get a sense of accomplishment when you see the solution and think aha." As a college student, he participated in the Putnam intercollegiate mathematics competition. The competition entails an extremely difficult exam given each year on the first Saturday of December. Martini decided to take the Putnam exam "for the fun of it." He feels happy that he got two problems right on the exam, since 50% of the people who take it get a zero. The fun of it, he reports, comes from the problems on the exam that "make you really think about something deeply."
Thinking deeply has characterized Martini’s entire academic career. Pelham Elementary School Principal Rena Moore worked with him in a group of sixth graders who were especially enthusiastic about math. Ten years later, she still remembers the high quality and careful detail of a particular project he did about packaging ping pong balls, as part of the "Connected Math" curriculum the students were using. His interest in science also began in elementary school, when his father, a physics professor at Western New England College, brought some demonstrations in to school. Along with his fellow students, Martini was dazzled by the jumping arcs of electricity. This experience led to a lifetime of "looking at the world around me and saying ’How does this work?’." His experience at Amherst Regional Middle School continued to feed this desire for knowledge. He fondly remembers ARMS science teacher Jennifer Welborn. "We did so many cool things in that class," he recalls. This included robtics, making hot air balloons with trash bags and sterno, and a general "spirit of experimentation." He wanted to "lap up anything that was thrown at me."
While at ARHS, Martini found intellectual stimulation in a variety of academic and elective courses. He especially enjoyed Chemistry class, not only for the things that the students were allowed to explode, but also for the rigor of the curriculum. "I had a really good chemistry course here," he reports. "It was on the level of the college course that I took. In fact, I was very disappointed in my introductory college chemistry course as a result. I was expecting something more. It was equivalent to what we did at ARHS." He appreciated the availability of elective offerings at ARHS that complemented his love of science. Courses in electronics, engineering technology and computer programming allowed him to "try out something and see if I was interested." He thinks it’s important for students to have the chance to take an elective and see what a field of study is like "rather than commit yourself to a major or a job." The elective program, he believes, "gives you some control over what you’re learning and it’s very important that people can choose."
While Martini’s ARHS teachers identify him as a top achiever in the classroom, what they remember most are his attitude toward learning and his outstanding personal qualities. Chemistry teacher Dr. Sharon M. Palmer describes him as "a real student who revels in learning" and points to the driving curiosity that took Martini above and beyond the course material. Mathematics teacher Geoff Friedman saw the same intensity in Martini’s motivation to understand what he was learning, to keep asking questions until he felt he penetrated the essence of the ideas. Both Palmer and Friedman were impressed with Martini’s maturity, responsibility, and sensitivity as a high school student. As advisor to the Environmental Action Club, Friedman worked closely with Martini on several projects, where he demonstrated an unrelenting enthusiasm and commitment to bettering the world around him. Martini took a lead role in the club’s effort to compost cafeteria waste and successfully launched an educational campaign to get more students to participate in the composting program.
Martini’s love of learning shows through most when he takes on the role of teacher. Palmer describes his "talent for teaching his peers – he is self-effacing and makes the material accessible without appearing condescending." Palmer recalls Martini taking the initiative to start an after-school science club at Pelham Elementary School. He had enjoyed participating in a similar group when he was young and wanted to give others that same opportunity. Palmer reports "He recruited a few friends, asked the science teachers for help in planning activities, and off he went!" He also helped Palmer with Saturday Science for Scouts, a program offered by the STEM Education Institute at UMass. Palmer appreciated working with someone who is "genuinely a good citizen, in the classroom, in the school, and in the community."
For Martini, citizenship is an integral part of what it means to do science. Good scientists, he says, embody "creativity, the will to learn, and the desire to share what they know with other people." With his first-rate intellect, his compassion for fellow human beings, and his devotion to science, Michael Martini is poised to become a citizen of the world.