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Young Researcher
Anna Yang, 18, is an undergraduate student at Stanford University in Stanford, CA. She was named a Davidson Fellow and Regeneron Science Talent Search Scholar for her project titled "Smart Bee Colony Monitor: Internet of Things Device & Fusion Convolutional Neural Network for Queen Assessment."
In her research, Anna addresses queen failure, one of the leading causes of bee colony collapse. She developed the Smart Bee Colony Monitor — a system that uses a custom data collection device and machine learning to determine queen presence and acceptance remotely. The results showed a 91.8% accuracy for queen presence evaluation, demonstrating the potential for this system to be mass-produced for beekeepers worldwide.
Alongside her research, Anna also founded a nonprofit organization that aims to educate local communities about the importance of bees in the environment and bring bee colonies to accessible community gardens.