By Devin Powell
Forty science-minded teens have made it to the final round of the nation’s longest-running precollege science competition. As finalists in this year’s Intel Science Talent Search, a program of Society for Science & the Public, the students are now vying for $630,000 in awards, including a top award of $100,000 from the Intel Foundation.
In March, the young researchers will travel to Washington, D.C., to meet with respected scientists and present their research projects to the public and a group of judges. One finalist developed a needle-free diabetes monitoring system. Others created flame retardants made of biodegradable plastic, studied how children with Down syndrome perceive themselves and worked on new ways to protect satellite communications.
“Tackling real-world challenges from cancer to Internet security to alternative energy solutions, this year’s finalists are a true inspiration,” says Elizabeth Marincola, publisher of Science News and president of Society for Science & the Public. “We join with Intel in congratulating them on this tremendous honor and commend the mentors, teachers, schools, parents and communities that have contributed to their success.”
Each project was chosen from a pool of 1,839 entries submitted from across the country. The 2012 top winner will be announced March 13 at the National Building Museum in Washington, D.C. Last year, Evan O’Dorney, 17, of Danville, Calif., took first place for comparing two mathematical approaches to estimating the square root of an integer.