ESP Biography



THOMAS XIONG, MIT freshman studying biology and math



Major: 6-7, 18

College/Employer: MIT

Year of Graduation: 2021

Picture of Thomas Xiong

Brief Biographical Sketch:

Thomas Xiong is a freshman at MIT. He is a two-time International Biology Olympiad (IBO) gold medalist, representing the U.S. in 2016 and 2017. He has won multiple events at the MIT Science Olympiad Invitational and the National Science Olympiad (NSO) tournament, winning gold in three events at both the 2016 NSO and the 2016 MIT Invitational. Thomas is also has qualified for the American Invitational Mathematics Examination (AIME) multiple times.. Thomas is an avid cellist, having served as the section leader for multiple orchestras, including the 2015-2016 Texas Music Educators Association (TMEA) Philharmonic, the Seven Lakes Varsity Orchestra, and the Houston Youth Symphony (HYS). He is currently a member of the MIT Symphony Orchestra (MITSO) and the Emerson Scholarship program. Thomas plans on majoring in Course 7 (Biology) and Course 18 (Mathematics) at MIT.



Past Classes

  (Clicking a class title will bring you to the course's section of the corresponding course catalog)

X13868: The Theory of Counterattacking: Strategies in Starcraft in Spark 2020 (Mar. 14 - 15, 2020)
Counterattacking is a concept that shows up in virtually any subject of interest: chess, karate, stock trading, sports, and our favorite, games. In this class, we will show you how to execute powerful counterattacks by analyzing the unrivaled king of fast paced strategy games, Starcraft II. First we'll show you how to play, and then we'll delve right into replays of the world's best players executing sharp counterattacks to demonstrate the beauty of this concept. By the end of the class, you'll be able to make higher level strategic calls that will devastate your opponent. Whether you're looking to become a better Starcraft player, improve your chess game, or challenge your problem-solving skills, this class is perfect for all backgrounds and skill levels.


S11873: How We Live: Biology in All Its Glory in Splash 2017 (Nov. 18 - 19, 2017)
Ever thought biology was just memorization? Ever bemoaned that biology is truly just applied chemistry? Come to this class to learn that biology is everything you've always wanted: problem solving, discovery, interconnectedness, beauty. Watch how a cell resorts to chaos as its subjected to unyielding stress; see how a plant seed manages to never sprout in the winter. Examine how competition arises as surreptitious undercurrents rather than outright battle and model phenomena across biology using elegant mathematical principles. Ultimately, discover perhaps not why we live, but rather how we live--where we have come from, and where we might be going.