Unger takes first in crystallography contest

By Kacey Hsu,
Bluedevilhub.com Staff–

Junior Colin Unger was presented with the first place award for his entry into the U.S. National Committee for Crystallography on Wednesday, Mar. 18.

To personally present the award to Unger, members from the Crystallography Society paid a visit to Davis High. Accompanied by principal William Brown and Davis High chemistry teacher David Van Muyden, they handed Unger the award.

Unger has been working in a lab at UC Davis, where he originally had the idea to enter the competition after being told about it by the professor he worked with.

Prior to the project, Unger was unfamiliar with crystallography and had to spend time to researching and familiarizing himself with the topic.

He took matters into his own hands and compiled a cohesive video to submit.

“It took me quite a while, actually, to piece the whole video together. I started in the fall and met the deadline which was December 31,” Unger said.

Van Muyden taught Unger in AP Chemistry last year when Unger was a sophomore.

“Colin is blessed with the ability and drive to be successful at anything he puts his mind to,” Van Muyden said about his talented student.

Unger was a bit shocked when he found out that he won the first place award out of all entries.

In addition to Unger’s personal award, the association granted DHS $1000. Although the money has not yet been allocated to anywhere in particular, Unger will have a say in where he’d like to contribute.

In the future, Unger hopes to find himself in the field of science, and wants to add to the knowledge he’s picked up both inside and outside of school.