A 21-year-old math wizard believes that math can be used to solve real-life problems, even in lessening the impacts of the coronavirus pandemic.
"I figure out the interventions that would reduce, would produce the least economic impact, say in terms of like lockdowns, community quarantines, but at the same time like reducing the largest COVID cases. I think this requires accessing a lot of data," Farrell Eldrian Wu said in an interview with ABS CBN News.
Wu graduated last June 4 with a perfect grade point average (GPA) of 5.0 from the prestigious Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in Cambridge, Massachusetts in the US.
The straight A graduate finished with a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science and Engineering and Bachelor of Science in Business Analytics degrees, with a minor in Economics. Wu started at MIT in 2017 when he was 17.
He was also one of the first to win gold medals for the Philippines at the International Mathematical Olympiad (IMO) in 2016.
"What I enjoy about math, it has really changed over time.... I just felt happy when I am able to solve problems. I just felt that the depth of mathematics is very engaging," he said.
“Mathematics, as a subject, is most valuable as an avenue to impart critical thinking and problem-solving skills that are relevant to most quantitative disciplines and careers,” Wu said in a separate interview with ANCX. “This focus on problem solving, rigorous reasoning, and accuracy, is what mathematics gets distilled into. Simply put, studying mathematics opens many beautiful windows to the world.”
Wu, meanwhile, honored the MGC New Life Christian Academy in Taguig City where he finished high school, as well as the University of the Philippines-Diliman and Ateneo de Manila University for serving as his inspiration in his success.
"After lecture, I usually go over my notes to make sure I was not able to miss anything and I am able to understand what the professor has just said but also the big picture. I have a certain question that I ask myself after every lecture," he told ABS CBN.
“Having spent my high school summers attending math Olympiad training at the University of the Philippines-Diliman and Ateneo de Manila University, I have experienced the dedicated and compassionate teaching of the professors in both universities, so I set my goal of studying in either one of them for college,” he said in a previous interview with the Manila Bulletin.
Wu also founded 'Operation MATHew,' an educational outreach that mentors public school students in remote areas.
He also recently went viral online after Vice President Leni Robredo remembered him for once donating the money he earned as a tutor to the Jesse Robredo M. Foundation.
“I know Farrel Wu personally. He was Jillian’s friend since they were in Grade School. They trained for International Math Competitions and competed together. It was Farrel who would always bag the GOLD for the Philippines. He brought a lot of honor for the country from Grade School and High School,” her post said.
Wu advised those who wish to study abroad to be passionate. "These colleges like to see people who are really passionate about what they do."