Researching Renewables
Reagan Senior Studies Environmentally Friendly Energy
By Amy Morgan
It’s not every day a high schooler has the opportunity to publish clinical research in a peer reviewed scientific journal, but Ronald Reagan senior Angela Huang is not your typical student. Beginning her freshman year, she conducted research through Texas A&M about the emerging industry of space tourism. Her specific interest was studying the amount and impact of CO2 emissions that might be released when civilians become able to go to space as companies like Blue Origin and Space X grow in popularity. Angela was able to collect data on fuel capacity and thrust and use derivative equations to predict that potential emissions could amount to as much as those generated by the country of Congo, she noted.
The project allowed her to combine her passion for STEM-field research and the environment. An avid conservationist, Angela developed her love for the outdoors during road trips and hikes with her parents through America’s national parks.
Last summer she spent four weeks in Maine doing conservation work on the Appalachian trail, replacing decaying and unstable bog bridges with steppingstones. Her team of seven students hailing from across the United States lived in a tent outdoors for the entire month, cooked their own meals on a portable stove and walked 30 minutes to a shower once a week. “It was a lot of physical labor," she said, and while Angela developed close friendships with her peers, she admits she was “glad to be in her own bed and eat homecooked meals.”
She also recently completed a laboratory learning research internship at Princeton University. Angela explored ways to create a new fuel blend using ammonia that would lower the amount of CO2 released upon combustion. The only high school student participating on that project, Angela worked with the reactor, coding and creating simulations. She hopes to parlay that experience into a spot in Princeton’s freshman class next year. And with a GPA of 108 and her class rank of third in Reagan’s 2026 graduating class, it’s difficult to imagine she won’t achieve that dream.
Angela’s favorite class at Reagan has been Multivariable Calculus (the highest math course available). She appreciates the small class size that challenges her and finds it “incredibly satisfying” when she completes
a project.
Angela plans to major in chemistry or engineering, eventually becoming a scientist. She truly believes that science is at the edge of breakthrough to generate more forms of clean energy through different chemical pathways or atom fusions, and she wants to be part of that endeavor.
She’s also part of San Antonio’s Youth Climate Council, where she joins like-minded peers monthly to learn about local environmental efforts. Last year, her group developed a project to connect local businesses with ReworksSA, an organization that helps groups budget and connect with ways to focus on renewable energy and climate technology. “We wanted to bring attention to work already being done in the community and bring our energy and passion to it,” she said.
Part of Reagan’s varsity tennis team, Angela learned how to play at age nine through the YMCA. She appreciates the game’s physicality and test of mental strength. Angela considers the team’s playoff win over perpetual rival Vandergriff a favorite Reagan memory. She also serves as a class officer. Angela was selected Junior Class President, a position that involved planning events including prom. She enjoys leadership, which she considers a “great way to meet people” and considered the class pickleball tournament at Dill Dinkers another highlight. Angela also volunteers in the Chinese community, serving at the San Antonio Chinese Alliance’s mid-Autumn festival and participating in the dance group with her mother.
Angela describes herself as “an outgoing person who loves to combine science and environmentalism to make our world a better place.”
