Intel Science Talent Search Winners Announced

Innovation was the word of the day as Intel announced the winners of the Intel Science Talent Search (Intel STS). The top award, a $100,000 scholarship from the Intel Foundation, went to Mary Masterman, 17, who built an accurate spectrograph that identifies the specific characteristics – or "fingerprints” – of different kinds of molecules. Spectrographs have wide applications in research and industry and can cost as much as $100,000. Mary’s invention cost hundreds of dollars. The rest of the top 10 winners are listed below: Second Place: John Pardon, 17, of Chapel Hill, N.C., received a $75,000 scholarship for his project that solved a classical open problem in differential geometry. John showed that a finite-length closed curve in the plane can be made convex in a continuous manner, and without bringing any two points of the curve closer together. Third Place: Dmitry Vaintrob, 18, of Eugene, Ore., received a $50,000 scholarship for his sophisticated investigation of ways to associate algebraic structures to topological spaces. Dmitry proved that loop homology and Hochschild cohomology coincide for an important class of spaces. Fourth Place: Catherine Schlingheyde, 17, of Oyster Bay, N.Y., received a $25,000 scholarship for her research on microRNA repression, a basic mechanism that regulates cell function. Fifth Place: Rebecca Kaufman, 17, of Croton-on-Hudson, N.Y., received a $25,000 scholarship for her study of the effects of male hormones in a model of schizophrenia. Sixth Place: Gregory Brockman, 18, of Thompson, N.D., received a $25,000 scholarship for his mathematics project that provided a thorough analysis of Ducci sequences, also known as the "four number game.” Seventh Place: Megan Blewett, 17, of Madison, N.J., received a $20,000 scholarship for her analysis of a protein that may be implicated in multiple sclerosis and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Eighth Place: Daniel Handlin, 18, of Lincroft, N.J., received a $20,000 scholarship for developing an accurate, low-cost method of determining the position of geo-stationary Earth-orbit (GEO) satellites. Ninth Place: Meredith MacGregor, 18, of Boulder, Colo., received a $20,000 scholarship for her research on the fluid dynamics of the "Brazil Nut Effect,” in which shaken particles separate by size with the largest on top. Tenth Place: Emma Call, 18, of Baltimore, Md., received a $20,000 scholarship for the fabrication of 3-D microcubes, which have potential use as novel drug-delivery devices. The remaining 30 finalists receive $5,000 scholarships and new Intel® Centrino® Duo Mobile Technology based notebooks. More than 1,700 high school seniors nationwide entered Intel STS. Of those, 300 were chosen as semifinalists in January, and of these, 40 finalists were invited to Washington, D.C. to compete for the top 10 awards. Intel Chairman Craig Barrett, who awarded the scholarships to the winning students at a gala in Washington, D.C. tonight, said, "For nearly 40 years, Intel has worked to encourage and develop new generations of innovators. When I meet young scientists like Mary, John, Dmitry and the other Intel STS finalists, I know that the future of American innovation is bright.” "I am particularly heartened by the fact that more women were finalists and top 10 winners this year than in any year since Intel assumed the title sponsorship in 1998,” he said. STS is America's oldest and most prestigious high school science competition. Its alumni include six Nobel Laureates, three National Medal of Science winners, 10 MacArthur Foundation Fellows and two Fields Medalists. Intel assumed the title sponsorship of Intel STS nearly a decade ago to spotlight the need to improve math and science education in the United States, increasing the competition’s annual awards and scholarships from $207,000 to $1.25 million. Since then, interest in Intel STS has risen significantly, with this year’s 1,705 entrants representing record participation for the Intel sponsorship. Intel has long been committed to promoting math and science education, with an emphasis on women and underserved minorities. Today Intel invests more than $100 million annually to promote education and technological literacy around the world. Science Service, the nonprofit organization which works to advance the understanding and appreciation of science, has administered the STS since its inception in 1942. Elizabeth Marincola, president of Science Service, said, "Intel STS finalists represent the future of American innovation in math, science, and engineering. Science Service is proud to join Intel in congratulating Mary Masterman and all of the Intel STS finalists on their accomplishments. Their dedication to scientific inquiry and discovery is inspirational.” To learn more about Intel's commitment to education around the world, visit www.intel.com/education. To learn more about Science Service, visit www.sciserv.org. Intel, the world leader in silicon innovation, develops technologies, products and initiatives to continually advance how people work and live. For more information please visit www.intel.com/pressroom. Intel, the Intel logo and Intel Centrino are trademarks or registered trademarks of Intel Corporation or its subsidiaries in the United States and other countries.