* 2025#REDIRECT [[Regeneron Science Talent Search #1949–present]] ▼{{Short description|American astronomer (born 2006 or 2007)}}
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| name = Matteo Paz
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| image = Matteo Paz.jpg
| birth_date = {{birth based on age as of date |18|2025|March|11}}
| education = [[Pasadena High School (California)|Pasadena High School]]
[[Massachusetts Institute of Technology]] (currently enrolled)
| years_active = 2022–present
| known_for = Developing an [[artificial intelligence]] model that identifies [[celestial objects]]
| awards = [[Regeneron Science Talent Search]] (2025)
}}
'''Matteo Paz''' (born 2006 or 2007) is an American astronomer who developed an [[artificial intelligence]] model that identifies [[celestial objects]].
== Biography ==
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| quote = If I could give one piece of advice to young people with ambition, just start it. You're never gonna know, before you start, where you can go. You're never gonna know how exactly you're gonna do it. But you're first step will lead into your next and that's really just how you do great things in life.
| author = – Paz after winning the 2025 [[Regeneron Science Talent Search]]<ref>{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8_AZ71yNUZY |title=Meet Matteo Paz, 1st Place Winner of the 2025 Regeneron STS |date=2025-03-12 |last=SocietyforScience |access-date=2025-06-29 |via=YouTube}}</ref>
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Before enrolling at the [[Massachusetts Institute of Technology]], Paz attended [[Pasadena High School (California)|Pasadena High School]] in [[Pasadena, California]], where he participated in the Math Academy Program.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Steward PhD Alum Mentors Teen Who Wins $250K for Using AI to Discover 1.5 Million Hidden Objects in Space {{!}} Steward Observatory |url=https://astro.arizona.edu/news/steward-phd-alum-mentors-teen-who-wins-250k-using-ai-discover-15-million-hidden-objects-space |access-date=2025-06-29 |website=astro.arizona.edu |language=en}}</ref> This allowed him to receive the equivalent of a undergraduate degree in mathematics while in high school. In the summer of 2022, he joined the [[California Institute of Technology]]'s Planet Finder Academy, where he was mentored by [[J. Davy Kirkpatrick]] and [[Andrew Howard (robotics researcher)|Andrew Howard]].<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |last=Tuhin |first=Muhammad |date=2025-04-11 |title=The High Schooler Who Found 1.5 Million Hidden Objects in Space: The Story of Matteo Paz and His Cosmic Algorithm |url=https://www.sciencenewstoday.org/the-high-schooler-who-found-1-5-million-hidden-objects-in-space-the-story-of-matteo-paz-and-his-cosmic-algorithm |access-date=2025-06-28 |website=Science News Today |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Bernard |first=Adrien |date=2025-04-16 |title=At 18, he discovers 1.5 million unknown celestial objects with his AI algorithm 🌟 |url=https://www.techno-science.net/en/news/at-18-he-discovers-million-unknown-celestial-objects-with-his-ai-algorithm-N26834.html |access-date=2025-06-28 |website=Techno-Science.net |language=en}}</ref>
Paz and Kirkpatrick analyzed [[NASA]]'s [[Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer]]'s dataset. Paz began building an AI model that could analyze the dataset and identify objects in space. In six weeks, the model was capable of identifying such objects. By 2024, it had flagged 1.5 million candidate objects.<ref name=":1" /> In November 2024, he published his paper, ''A Submillisecond Fourier and Wavelet-based Model to Extract Variable Candidates from the NEOWISE Single-exposure Database'', in ''[[The Astronomical Journal]]''.<ref name=":2">{{Cite journal |title=A Submillisecond Fourier and Wavelet-based Model to Extract Variable Candidates from the NEOWISE Single-exposure Database | date=2024 |doi=10.3847/1538-3881/ad7fe6| doi-access=free | last1=Paz | first1=Matthew | journal=The Astronomical Journal | volume=168 | issue=6 | page=241 | arxiv=2409.15499 | bibcode=2024AJ....168..241P }}</ref>
In March 2025, Paz won first place in the [[Regeneron Science Talent Search]] for his AI model at the [[National Building Museum]] in [[Washington, D.C.]], and received the $250,000 prize.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2025-03-11 |title=Regeneron Science Talent Search 2025 Awards More Than $1.8 Million to High School Seniors for Innovative Research on Classifying Celestial Objects, Treating a Rare Muscle Disease and Solving a Long-Standing Math Problem |url=https://www.societyforscience.org/press-release/regeneron-sts-top-awards-2025/ |access-date=2025-06-28 |website=Society for Science |language=en-US}}</ref>
Paz works at the [[Infrared Processing and Analysis Center]].<ref name=":1" />
== Personal life ==
Paz enjoys [[snowboarding]].<ref name=":0">{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_9W3sKWSnKs |title=Pasadena high schooler earns top science award |date=2025-04-14 |last=FOX 11 Los Angeles |access-date=2025-06-28 |via=YouTube}}</ref>
== Awards and honors ==
▲* 2025 [[Regeneron Science Talent Search]]
== Bibliography ==
* ''A Submillisecond Fourier and Wavelet-based Model to Extract Variable Candidates from the NEOWISE Single-exposure Database'' ([[The Astronomical Journal|''The Astronomical Journal'']], 2024). [[Digital object identifier|DOI]]: [https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/1538-3881/ad7fe6 10.3847/1538-3881/ad7fe6].<ref name=":2" />
== References ==
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Paz, Matteo}}
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:21st-century American astronomers]]
[[Category:American male snowboarders]]
[[Category:American artificial intelligence researchers]]
[[Category:California Institute of Technology faculty]]
[[Category:Pasadena High School (California) alumni]]
[[Category:People from Pasadena, California]]
{{DEFAULTSORT:Paz, Matteo}}
[[Category:Year of birth missing (living people)]]
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