Wyatt Pontius

Wyatt Martin Pontius (born January 16, 1998) is an aspiring American inventor and scientist. He is known by few for his multi-award-winning work on potential solutions to global warming and global hunger, which he developed as a student at the Loudoun Academy of Science. Pontius enrolled as a freshman at Stanford University for the 2016-2017 academic year as a member of the Stanford Class of 2020, widely recognized as the class with the lowest admission rate in American college history. This continues the downward trend in acceptance rates across American colleges.
Career
Research
Junior-Year Work
Pontius spent a year doing research working with partner and Academy of Science classmate Liam Wallace. The team, working with students from Singapore's Hwa Chong Institution, developed a nanomesh composed of poly(ethylene oxide) and sodium alginate to create an "artificial leaf" in conjunction with the use of Cyanobacteria. This technology in a system that was 50% more efficient at oxygen generation than natural Spinach leaves that could potentially be applied to oxygenate the atmosphere on Mars. As a result of this success, Pontius had a Minor Planet named in his honor (32060 Wyattpontius). Pontius and Wallace were also honored with two special awards, claiming prizes from the Sigma Xi research society and the U.S. Steel company. Additionally, they achieved top marks for their work in conjunction with their partners from Singapore.
Senior-Year Work
Following his success as a team-researcher, Pontius worked independently during his second year of noteworthy research. He continued to work toward the same goal of creating a semi-artificial leaf, but took a different approach entirely than the previous year. Instead of working with nanomesh technology, Pontius instead utilized a variety of materials including single-wall carbon nanotubes, alginate beads, and silica gel to create another artificial leaf. a change from his category of participation from the previous competition. Pontius was also named a 2016 Davidson Fellow in the category of Science and awarded $25,000 by the Davidson Institute for Talent Development, a prize intended to recognize extraordinary young people who have completed significant works. Twenty students nationwide were selected for this recognition. Pontius was eventually named a Finalist as well. He also graduated in the top 5% of his graduating class, recognized by Loudoun County Public Schools at the county's annual Excellence in Education Banquet. Pontius also was named a 2016 Coca-Cola Scholar and awarded a $20,000 scholarship by the Coca-Cola Scholars Foundation for his academic, leadership, and community service excellence. He was one of 150 students nationally to receive the honor. as a result of his research success and perfect test scores on the ACT and SAT II Math 2 exams.
Personal life
Scouting
As a member of Boy Scouts of America Troop 956, Pontius advanced to the rank of Eagle Scout, completing a service project for Camp Highroad.
Athletics
Pontius competed as a member of the Varsity Swim Team at Potomac Falls High School during his time as a student there. He also played travel soccer for a number of years as a member of the Sterling Youth Soccer Association '97 travel team.
Service
Pontius serves as the Chief Financial Officer of the Starts with Soap non-profit organization. It is unclear how long Pontius has held this position. Please check his LinkedIn page for more information.
Politics
Pontius was seen at a Donald J. Trump rally on April, 2016 when the Trump rally was brought to Briar Woods High School in Ashburn. He later expressed his libertarian views, supporting the Libertarian Party candidate, Gary Johnson.
Other Interests
Pontius seemingly has a variety of other interests, ranging from financial markets to medicine.

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