Future Leaders Winner addressing society's biggest challenges
Throughout the school year, CBS Colorado, along with Chevron and Colorado School of Mines, recognizes high school students who excel in science, technology, engineering, and math or STEM. The Future Leaders Award includes $1,000 and a profile on CBS News Colorado.
Nicholas Kruus is the latest Futures Leaders winner. Kruus is a senior at STEM School Highlands Ranch. He maintains a 4.7 GPA, got a score of 1580 on the SAT, and scored 5 out of 5 on all five Advanced Placement (AP) tests. Beyond his school work, he's doing critical thinking about some of society's biggest issues.
In the last few years, Kruus has written or contributed to nearly a dozen research papers on a wide variety of topics.
"I think my work currently really kind of focuses on the intersection of philosophy, specifically ethics, economics and politics," he explained.
He's researched and written on topics like the gender gap in STEM, student mental health and stigma, and education in low-income countries. Most recently, he's been working on a report for the World Bank designed to improve forecasts of greenhouse gases.
"The reason that this is very important and very motivating for me is that the recommendations that we're making should provide governments with more useful information to allow them to make their sustainability policies more effective," Kruus said.
Kruus was in sixth grade when the shooting happened at STEM School Highlands Ranch. The next year COVID swept across the country. His formal learning was disrupted for several years.
"I really struggled to learn during the pandemic," he recalled.
"What started you on the journey of writing the research papers?" First Alert Meteorologist Dave Aguilera asked Kruus.
"I was at a point in my life where I felt like I didn't have much meaning or fulfillment, and so I was quite, feeling really down because of that," he replied. "That's kind of when I started pursuing research because I saw this as a way that I could help contribute to society."
He also contributed to the Yale Young Global Scholars program at Yale University.
"This was really sort of an exciting opportunity to really sort of immerse myself in a group of people who are focused on trying to solve some of humanity's largest challenges," he said of the program.
Kruus also did a fellowship with Non-Trivial, an online research program.
"The fellowship aims to help high schoolers to have a positive social impact with a project, as well as provide them with mentorship and a network of people who have this shared goal," he said.
Kruus is not afraid of a challenge or a deep dive into the internet. He worked with the Global Priorities Institute at Oxford University and helped to summarize some of the Institute's more technical papers for a general audience.
"I came to realize that I think that what makes life meaningful and what gives me purpose is trying to help others," Kruus told CBS News Colorado.
Kruus will continue his research efforts in college, but he's not sure where he's going to go yet. He's also not exactly clear how he'll pursue his interests in the future, but he will definitely continue to think critically about society's most pressing problems.
CBS Colorado is accepting nominations for its Future Leaders Award through April 18, 2025.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
New York Post
5 hours ago
- New York Post
Chinese scientists, accused of smuggling biological matter into the US, will stay in jail
Two Chinese scientists accused of smuggling or shipping biological material into the United States for use at the University of Michigan will remain in custody after waiving their right to a hearing Friday in federal court. Yunqing Jian and Chengxuan Han said in separate court appearances in Detroit that they would not challenge the government's request to keep them locked up while their cases move forward. 'This is a constantly evolving situation involving a large number of factors,' Han's attorney, Sara Garber, told a judge. She didn't elaborate and later declined to comment. Advertisement 5 Mugshot of Yunqing Jian, one of the scientists accused, both did not challenge the government's request to keep them imprisoned while their cases move forward. AP 5 Mugshot of Chengxuan Han, who was arrested at Detroit Metropolitan Airport after arriving on a flight from China. AP Han was arrested Sunday at Detroit Metropolitan Airport after arriving on a flight from China, where she is pursuing an advanced degree at Huazhong University of Science and Technology in Wuhan. She planned to spend a year completing a project at the University of Michigan lab, and is accused of shipping biological material months ago to laboratory staff. Advertisement 5 Han sent four packages that 'contained biological material related to round worms' from China, according to court documents. US District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan It was intercepted by authorities. The FBI, in a court filing, said the material is related to worms and lacked a government permit. Experts told The Associated Press it didn't appear to be dangerous. Jian's case is different. She is charged with conspiring with her boyfriend, another scientist from China, to bring a toxic fungus into the U.S. Fusarium graminearum can attack wheat, barley, maize and rice. 5 Jian was charged with conspiring with her boyfriend to bring a toxic fungus into the U.S. called Fusarium graminearum that can attack wheat, barley, maize and rice. via REUTERS Advertisement 5 Defense lawyers for Chinese scientist Yunqing Jian, from left, David Duncan, James Gerometta and Norman Zalkind leave federal court. AP The boyfriend, Zunyong Liu, was turned away at the Detroit airport last July and sent back to China after authorities found red plant material in his backpack. Jian, who worked at the university lab, was arrested June 2. Messages between Jian and Liu in 2024 suggest that Jian was already tending to Fusarium graminearum at the lab before Liu was caught at the airport, the FBI said. Jian's attorneys declined to comment Friday. Advertisement Federal authorities so far have not alleged that the scientists had a plan to unleash the fungus somewhere. Fusarium graminearum is already prevalent in the U.S. — particularly in the east and Upper Midwest — and scientists have been studying it for decades. Nicknamed 'vomitoxin' because it's most known for causing livestock to throw up, it can also cause diarrhea, abdominal pain, headache and fever in animals and people. Researchers often bring foreign plants, animals and even strains of fungi to the U.S. to study them, but they must file certain permits before moving anything across state or national borders. The university has not been accused of misconduct. It said it has received no money from the Chinese government related to the work of the three scientists. In a statement, it said it strongly condemns any actions that 'seek to cause harm, threaten national security or undermine the university's critical public mission.'
San Francisco Chronicle
7 hours ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
2 Chinese scientists will stay in jail while accused of bringing biological material to US
DETROIT (AP) — Two Chinese scientists accused of smuggling or shipping biological material into the United States for use at the University of Michigan will remain in custody after waiving their right to a hearing Friday in federal court. Yunqing Jian and Chengxuan Han said in separate court appearances in Detroit that they would not challenge the government's request to keep them locked up while their cases move forward. 'This is a constantly evolving situation involving a large number of factors,' Han's attorney, Sara Garber, told a judge. She didn't elaborate and later declined to comment. Han was arrested Sunday at Detroit Metropolitan Airport after arriving on a flight from China, where she is pursuing an advanced degree at Huazhong University of Science and Technology in Wuhan. She planned to spend a year completing a project at the University of Michigan lab, and is accused of shipping biological material months ago to laboratory staff. It was intercepted by authorities. The FBI, in a court filing, said the material is related to worms and lacked a government permit. Experts told The Associated Press it didn't appear to be dangerous. Jian's case is different. She is charged with conspiring with her boyfriend, another scientist from China, to bring a toxic fungus into the U.S. Fusarium graminearum can attack wheat, barley, maize and rice. The boyfriend, Zunyong Liu, was turned away at the Detroit airport last July and sent back to China after authorities found red plant material in his backpack. Jian, who worked at the university lab, was arrested June 2. Messages between Jian and Liu in 2024 suggest that Jian was already tending to Fusarium graminearum at the lab before Liu was caught at the airport, the FBI said. Jian's attorneys declined to comment Friday. Federal authorities so far have not alleged that the scientists had a plan to unleash the fungus somewhere. Fusarium graminearum is already prevalent in the U.S. — particularly in the east and Upper Midwest — and scientists have been studying it for decades. Nicknamed 'vomitoxin' because it's most known for causing livestock to throw up, it can also cause diarrhea, abdominal pain, headache and fever in animals and people. Researchers often bring foreign plants, animals and even strains of fungi to the U.S. to study them, but they must file certain permits before moving anything across state or national borders. The university has not been accused of misconduct. It said it has received no money from the Chinese government related to the work of the three scientists. In a statement, it said it strongly condemns any actions that 'seek to cause harm, threaten national security or undermine the university's critical public mission.'
Yahoo
7 hours ago
- Yahoo
2 scientists from China will stay in jail while charged with bringing biological material to US
Two Chinese scientists accused of smuggling or shipping biological material to the United States will remain in custody after waiving their right to a hearing in federal court (AP video: Mike Householder)
