“If we ensure that America’s children succeed in life, they will ensure that America succeeds in the world.”
- President George W. Bush, 2006 State of the Union Address

Hundreds of politicians, educators, and industry leaders gathered to ensure exactly that last night at the Intel Science Talent Search Awards Gala in Washington, DC. The Intel Science Talent Search, often referred to as the “junior Nobel Prize,” is America’s oldest and most highly regarded pre-college science competition and provides an incentive and an arena for U.S. high school seniors to complete an original research project and have it recognized by a national jury of highly regarded professional scientists.

Last night’s event was the culmination of a grueling week for the 40 finalists selected out 1600 applicants. The students spent seven days in the nation’s capital, presenting research projects to panels of judges and the public, meeting accomplished scientists and mathematicians, and even rubbing elbows with dignitaries. Going through this experience with the other bright minds of their generation was perhaps the most rewarding of all. Minh-Phuong Huynh-Le of Silver Spring, Maryland echoed the sentiment:

One of the most exciting things for me was sitting around our computers in the student lounge. You suddenly hear a burst of conversation and people are talking about computer science problems, or physics. It’s just so amazing that everyone here is so smart, and it’s great just to talk and be with them.

In the end, only one of the 40 promising young science and math stars in the room could be the winner of the Intel Science Talent Search. Shannon Lisa Babb, 18, of Highland, Utah, walked away with first prize and a $100,000 scholarship for her compelling research project on identifying water quality problems along the Spanish Fork River and its tributaries. There can be no doubt, however, that all of these young students will go far and help America retain its competitive edge.

Read more about what Intel is doing to foster scientific innovation by today’s youth.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, March 15th, 2006 at 4:23 pm and is filed under Education. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.