THE AV INTERVIEW: EMMA YANG (TIMELESS APP, THE STEM10)

ANDERSONVISION: What inspired the creation of the Timeless app?

EMMA YANG: Timeless is inspired by my personal experiences with my Grandma, who has Alzheimer’s. Having grown up with her, I have seen firsthand how the illness can affect not only the patient, but also the family, friends and caregivers of the patient. I noticed that my Grandma’s ability to recognize loved ones was greatly impacted by the disease.

I had also gotten interested in the role of technology in social impact and helping people with their daily lives, especially in medical fields. However, despite this, I was not able to find any apps that could help my grandmother live a better daily life. This inspired me to develop my own app that could help my Grandmother stay connected with my family.

AV: How has STEM changed your life?

EMMA: STEM has helped to expose me to ways I, as a student, can make an impact on my community and beyond. I see technology as a tool that I can use to empower myself to drive change. For example, Timeless has the potential to connect patients and families, no matter where or who they are, regardless of the fact that it was created by a student.

AV: What do you see for the future of the STEM10? 

EMMA: I hope that The STEM10 project will help to expose young people to the different ways they can make an impact on their communities through STEM. I hope that young people around the world can see, through the lens of each of us in STEM10, that anyone at any age can make a difference.

AV: You have worked in concussion treatment in the past. Do you have plans to target CTE?

EMMA: Currently, I’m focusing on bringing Timeless to the market and further enhancing the app, but CTE is certainly a field I believe there is a lot of potential for technology applications. It is definitely one of the areas that I may explore and target in the future.

AV: What would you like to target next?

EMMA: Timeless will be my primary focus for the foreseeable future as there are many potential features that could be added to the app that could augment the benefit of Timeless for patients, families and caregivers.

I am also learning more about machine learning and hope that I can apply my knowledge to lung cancer detection, which I hope to focus on next.

AV: The STEM10 has a focus on diversity. How do you feel this focus impacted you?

EMMA: Diversity is extremely important in bringing many different ideas to the table and identifying issues in the global community that need to address. I am a girl in technology and often I am the minority in any given occasion. It’s important to me to get more girls into STEM. The STEM10’s focus on diversity has shown me that there are many students out there like me who are using STEM to make an impact, and this is something I can use as a platform to advocate diversity in my community.

AV: Does the STEM10 allow for collaborators to team up?

EMMA: Yes it does. I am reaching out to the tech community to co-develop the app with me. As a student I have limited time and hope to bring Timeless to the market as soon as possible.

AV: What is your long-term goal in the field of science?

EMMA: I am passionate about biotech, computer science, machine learning, and technology innovation. I am also especially interested in the intersection between healthcare and computer science, and to apply my interest to create solutions that can solve real world problems.

https://youtu.be/hF_XpWX-kOw

WHERE CAN I LEARN MORE ABOUT THE STEM10?

New Form, a digital entertainment studio, and CA Technologies, one of the largest independent system software companies, will debut their collaborative docuseries that highlights and encourages diversity in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (S.T.E.M.) fields on October, 24. A 10-episode series, The STEM10 will launch on the Amy Poehler’s Smart Girls website and social platforms.