By JESSICA RICHMAN

Andrew Hsu earned three degrees at the University of Washington by age 16 and became the second-youngest individual to graduate from the school. He published a book on Chinese-American scientists and started the non-profit World Children’s Organization. What’s next for this 16-year-old whiz kid? Stanford, as it turns out — Hsu is coming to The Farm to complete a Ph.D. in neuroscience.

The Daily: What, specifically, are you studying for your Ph.D.?

Andrew Hsu: First year Ph.D. students rotate through a series of labs, so I’ll be taking the next year to work with three different professors.

TD: How did you choose to study neuroscience?

AH: I felt like the brain was a really good thing to study. There are really good tools being developed right now and it’s been studied a lot with few results. Neuroscience is very interdisciplinary, integrating all of three of the fields — neurobiology, biochemistry and chemistry — that I studied at the undergraduate level.

I thought specifically about whether to go into graduate school instead of medical school. Medical school is really intense knowledge gathering for four years, but it’s still learning what is already in textbooks, not creating new things. I want to go to graduate school to learn unknown things.

TD: What are your aspirations in neuroscience?

AH: My strongest motivation is to use the skills that I have built up to help other people. I’m very interested in cellular and molecular neurobiology and in applying my research to the clinical setting. I want to do things that are related to neurological diseases, such as Parkinson’s or autism.

TD: How do you gain the confidence to do what you do?

AH: I don’t really think that I have any special sense of confidence. When I entered college at age 10 or 11, I was just going to the next step in my education. I never felt that I had to differentiate myself because of my age because many people didn’t know how old I was. I just try not to think about my age.

TD: How much do you think that your home environment played a role in your successes?

AH: I went to elementary school around Seattle and then was home schooled after fourth grade. Grades are segregated by age, not skill. That was really a turning point in my life. Being home schooled really contributed to my emotional and mental development. I’m very lucky to have great parents that are supportive and nurturing and have helped me pursue my dreams.

TD: Tell me about your desire to help kids around the world.

AH: I founded an organization with my brother [World Children’s Organization] dedicated to health and language education. Our two main products right now are English language reading rooms in China and Taiwan and developing water filters for the Third World. We’re also looking at existing water filter designs, trying to develop something much cheaper and more robust. Also, in the next year, we hope to host an International Youth Summit, bringing people together to talk about health issues and language acquisition in children.

TD: What advice do you have for others who want to make more use of their talents?

AH: It’s really important to go out and search for answers for yourself, if your parents or teachers don’t know the answer. Email professors or teachers or whomever you think can help you achieve your goals. Also, make good use of your spare time because it really adds up to a lot. If you’re waiting at the bus stop or in a restaurant, bring a library book or a textbook. Don’t waste your time.