Twenty-six young men and 14 young women cleared the second hurdle on the track to a championship that recognizes exceptional ability in science, engineering, and math—the annual Intel Science Talent Search.
Winnowed from 1,602 entrants, the 40 finalists will travel to Washington, D.C., in March to present their research to the public and to undergo the final round of judging during the Intel Science Talent Institute. Winners will share $530,000 in scholarships. Many of the previous participants have gone on to distinguished careers in science; six have won the Nobel Prize.
“The 2008 finalists of the Intel Science Talent Search demonstrate great promise for the future of science in the U.S., providing reassurance that American competitiveness in the sciences is alive and well,” says Elizabeth Marincola, publisher of Science News and president of Society for Science & the Public. “Society for Science & the Public is proud to honor this outstanding group of young researchers.”
Society for Science & the Public, which runs the competition, and sponsor Intel Corporation of Santa Clara, Calif., announced the finalists on Jan. 30. They are:
Florida: Avanthi Raghavan, Lake Highland Preparatory School, Orlando.
Georgia: Yihe Dong, Cedar Shoals H.S., Athens; Nathaniel Edward Hipsman, Lassiter H.S., Marietta.
Hawaii: Philip Mocz, Mililani H.S., Mililani.
Iowa: Xiaomeng Zeng, West H.S., Iowa City.
Maryland: Benjamin Brice Lu, Richard Montgomery H.S., Potomac; Louis Eric Wasserman, Montgomery Blair H.S., Derwood.
Massachusetts: Jonathan Hunter Huggins, Middlesex H.S., Arlington.
Michigan: Shravani Mikkilineni, Detroit Country Day School, Bloomfield Hills.
Missouri: Evan Neal Mirts, Jefferson City H.S., Jefferson City.
New Jersey: Eric Nelson Delgado, Bayonne H.S., Bayonne.
New Mexico: Benjamin Edward Dozier, Los Alamos H.S., Los Alamos.
New York: Jeremy Evan Blum, Byram Hills H.S., Armonk; Artem Serganov, Bronx H.S. of Science, New York City; Lauren Rose Lisann, Half Hollow Hills H.S. West, Dix Hills; Herman Gudjonson, Ward Melville H.S., East Setauket; David Alex Rosengarten, John L. Miller-Great Neck North H.S., Great Neck; Benjamin Julius Mueller, John L. Miller-Great Neck North H.S., Great Neck; Hamsa Sridhar, Kings Park H.S., Kings Park; Katherine Rose Banks, Stuyvesant H.S., Brooklyn; Olivia Hu, Stuyvesant H.S., Little Neck; Xiaoyun Yin, Stuyvesant H.S., Forest Hills; Timothy Zuchi Chang, Stuyvesant H.S., Rego Park; Stefan Klein Muller, Paul D. Schreiber H.S., Port Washington; Alexis Marie Mychajliw, Paul D. Schreiber H.S., Port Washington; Evan Joseph Babazadeh, Roslyn H.S., Roslyn; Ashok Chandran, Smithtown H.S. East, Nesconset.
North Carolina: Shivani Sud, Charles E. Jordan H.S., Durham.
Oregon: Brian Davis McCarthy, Liberty H.S., Hillsboro.
Pennsylvania: Isha Jain, Freedom H.S., Bethlehem; Anastasia Nast Roda, Lancaster H.S., Lancaster; Chun-Kai Kao, George School, Newtown; Clifford Byungho Kim, North Allegheny Senior H.S., Wexford.
South Carolina: Graham William Wakefield Van Schaik, Spring Valley H.S., Columbia.
Texas: Ayon Sen, Westwood H.S., Austin; Vinay Venkatesh Ramasesh, Texas Academy of Mathematics and Science, Fort Worth; Alexander Chi-Jan Huang, Plano Senior H.S., Plano.
Virginia: Sappho Zoe Gilbert, Thomas Jefferson H.S. for Science and Technology, McLean.
Washington: Qiaochu Yuan, Bellevue H.S., Bellevue.
Wisconsin: Matthew Michael Wage, Appleton H.S. East, Appleton.
