TIP/Madison woman to be guest of Obamas at State of the Union address

Jan. 27, 2010

TO: Editors, news directors
FROM: Chris Barncard, University Communications, 608-890-0465, barncard@wisc.edu
RE: TIP/MADISON WOMAN TO BE GUEST OF OBAMAS AT STATE OF THE UNION ADDRESS

Gabriela Farfan, a graduate of Madison West High School, will attend President Barack Obama’s State of the Union address tonight (Jan. 27) in Washington as a guest of first lady Michelle Obama.

Farfan, 19, caught the attention of the White House when her analysis of Oregon sunstone landed her in the top 10 in 2009’s Intel Science Talent Search, a national science competition for high school students. Now a freshman geology major at Stanford University, Farfan spent two years working with geology professor Huifang Xu in his University of Wisconsin–Madison lab and credits the UW–Madison Geology Museum for sparking her interest in minerals at age 7.

Interviews with Farfan can be arranged through e-mail (gfarfan@stanford.edu) Wednesday as she makes her way to Washington.

Huifang Xu can be reached at 608-334-1341, and can discuss Farfan’s remarkable aptitude for and interest in science and her research on the nano-precipitates give the sunstone its color and shimmer.