Philip enjoys reading, music, and woodworking. He is also active in tennis, soccer, and baseball. Philip notes, "I am interested in a career in medicine because I want to be able to help people." His fifth grade science teacher who encouraged Philip on his first science project is Philip's mentor.
As a musician, Philip developed an early interest in acoustics. He wanted to know if high-density materials reflected sound better than lower-density materials.
Philip built an elaborate device to test materials ranging from cork to stainless steel. He placed a sheet of each material near a speaker connected to a computer tone generator and a directional microphone. The sound was directed toward the material at an angle of 45° and recorded as it bounced off. He found that denser materials did reflect more sound. Cork reflected 47% of the directed sound, while stainless steel reflected 99%.
