Angeline Zhao’s project centered around analyzing gerrymandering New York City using Monte Carlo simulations.
Angeline Zhao ’25 and her project “Finding Belonging in the Big City: Understanding Communities-of-Interest in NYC Redistricting via Monte Carlo Simulations” landed her among the top 300 scholars in the 2025 Regeneron Science Talent Search (STS). Widely acknowledged as one of the nation’s oldest and most prestigious math and science competition, Regeneron STS honors high school seniors for their extensive research, leadership, and creativity.
Scholars each pursued independent passion projects affiliated with STEM. With over 2,500 projects submitted to the competition this year, the process was highly competitive in determining the top 300 scholars, each of whom received 2,000 dollars with an additional 2,000 dollars going to the school.
Zhao elaborated on her use of mathematics and statistical simulations in her project. Bridging STEM with current political issues, part of her project included using Monte Carlo simulations to investigate how redistricting maps may indicate gerrymandering.
“The topic came from the professor that I’m working with. I was really interested in his research which was focused on using mathematics and statistical simulations to analyze redistricting and gerrymandering… My specific topic is looking at NYC and looking at these communities of interest, which are these very vaguely defined geographical regions in cities that are supposed to be preserved so that people of similar or racial or political beliefs or cultures are grouped together and have the power to elect representatives that they want,” said Zhao.
Zhao continued, “What the Monte Carlo simulation does is allow you to very quickly generate a very big data set of potential [redistricting] maps… They group the precincts into these city council districts, and if you look at a really big subset then you can see how much of an outlier the current political map is. If it’s a really big outlier, you can look at the specific area where it differs from all your simulations and use that to conclude if it’s an instance of gerrymandering, etcetera.”
One of the things that Zhao appreciates most about math is the ability to apply it to interdisciplinary fields with tangible impact. She emphasized the applicability of STEM to real-life problems and how research can serve as tools to advocate social justice.
“I was always interested in interdisciplinary research that uses math not only within the field itself but also other [areas] like social or political issues… It’s a very powerful way of advocating for people whose voices are not represented properly or advocated for in government or other areas,” said Zhao.
Zhao continued, “What my research showed me is that there is a lot of power in using mathematics and numbers to advocate for change in a lot of these political and social contexts. I think that’s something that isn’t recognized enough, and I hope that more research like this will be conducted and that there will be more space for governments and other organizations to advocate for change based on [research] like this.”
Christopher Odden, Instructor in Mathematics, Statistics, and Computer Science, has taught Zhao in math for five terms at Andover. Congratulating Zhao on her achievement, Odden highlighted some of Zhao’s standout qualities as a student within the classroom.
“As a math student, she’s just phenomenally gifted, and she really understands the material, and she’s a great expositor. She can explain complicated ideas, and she thinks very clearly about the subjects, and she really has [a] great rapport with her peers in class, and is able to talk through problems with them. It is a great joy to teach her,” said Odden.
To other students interested in STEM research or independent passion projects, Zhao encouraged them to seize and pursue research opportunities that they find interesting, highlighting how simply reaching out can be a start.
“Think about topics that you are really interested in, and think about things that you notice in the world around you that you find really interesting. I would just advise you: Go for it. I cold emailed [my professor] and that’s how I got my research opportunity… STEM research seems very intimidating [but] I think there’s also a lot of room for you to learn and grow through the process. And you can get some really cool results out of it,” said Zhao.
