The Regeneron Science Talent Search, known for its first 57 years
as the Westinghouse Science Talent Search, and then as the Intel Science Talent Search (Intel STS) from 1998 through 2016,
is a
research-based
science competition in the
United States for
high school seniors. It has been referred to as "the nation's oldest and most prestigious" science competition. In his speech at the dinner honoring the 1991 Winners, President
George H. W. Bush called the competition the "Super Bowl of science."
History
The
Society for Science
Society for Science, formerly known as Science Service and later Society for Science and the Public, is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization dedicated to the promotion of science, through its science education programs and publications, including ...
began the competition in 1942 with
Westinghouse Electric Corporation
The Westinghouse Electric Corporation was an American manufacturing company founded in 1886 by George Westinghouse. It was originally named "Westinghouse Electric & Manufacturing Company" and was renamed "Westinghouse Electric Corporation" i ...
; for many years, the competition was known as the Westinghouse Science Talent Search. In 1998,
Intel became the sponsor after it outbid several other companies.
In May 2016, it was announced that
Regeneron Pharmaceuticals
Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc. is an American biotechnology company headquartered in Westchester County, New York. The company was founded in 1988. Originally focused on neurotrophic factors and their regenerative capabilities, giving rise to ...
would be the new title sponsor. Over the years, some 147,000 students have entered the competition. Over 22,000 have been named semifinalists and 2,920 have traveled to Washington, D.C., as contest finalists. Collectively, they have received millions of dollars in scholarships and gone on, in later years, to capture
Nobel Prizes,
Fields Medal
The Fields Medal is a prize awarded to two, three, or four mathematicians under 40 years of age at the International Congress of the International Mathematical Union (IMU), a meeting that takes place every four years. The name of the award h ...
s,
MacArthur Fellowships
The MacArthur Fellows Program, also known as the MacArthur Fellowship and commonly but unofficially known as the "Genius Grant", is a prize awarded annually by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation typically to between 20 and 30 indi ...
and numerous other accolades.
Thirteen went on to receive
Nobel Prizes, two earned the
Fields Medal
The Fields Medal is a prize awarded to two, three, or four mathematicians under 40 years of age at the International Congress of the International Mathematical Union (IMU), a meeting that takes place every four years. The name of the award h ...
, eleven have been awarded the
National Medal of Science
The National Medal of Science is an honor bestowed by the President of the United States to individuals in science and engineering who have made important contributions to the advancement of knowledge in the fields of behavioral and social scienc ...
, eighteen received
MacArthur Fellowships
The MacArthur Fellows Program, also known as the MacArthur Fellowship and commonly but unofficially known as the "Genius Grant", is a prize awarded annually by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation typically to between 20 and 30 indi ...
; three have won the
Albert Lasker Award
The Lasker Awards have been awarded annually since 1945 to living persons who have made major contributions to medical science or who have performed public service on behalf of medicine. They are administered by the Lasker Foundation, which was f ...
for Basic Medical Research; five have won a
Breakthrough Prize; 43 have been elected to the
National Academy of Sciences; and eleven have been elected to the
National Academy of Engineering.
In 2020, due to the seriousness of the coronavirus pandemic, Society for Science & The Public and Regeneron held the finalist week as a virtual competition in lieu of traveling to Washington D.C.
Competition
Entrants to the competition conduct original research—sometimes at home and sometimes by "working with leading research teams at universities, hospitals and private laboratories."
The selection process is highly competitive, and besides the research paper, letters of recommendation, essays, test scores, extracurricular activities, and high school transcripts may be factored in the selection of finalists and winners.
Each year, approximately 1,800 papers are submitted. The top 300 applicants are announced in mid-January and as of 2017 each semifinalist and their school receives $2,000 from the title sponsor. In late January, the 40 Finalists (the award winners) are informed. In March, the Finalists are flown to Washington, D.C. where they are interviewed for the top ten spots, which have awards up to $250,000. The judges have included
Glenn T. Seaborg
Glenn Theodore Seaborg (; April 19, 1912February 25, 1999) was an American chemist whose involvement in the synthesis, discovery and investigation of ten transuranium elements earned him a share of the 1951 Nobel Prize in Chemistry. His work in ...
(Nobel Laureate with
Edwin M. McMillan
Edwin Mattison McMillan (September 18, 1907 – September 7, 1991) was an American physicist credited with being the first-ever to produce a transuranium element, neptunium. For this, he shared the 1951 Nobel Prize in Chemistry with Glenn Seabor ...
in Chemistry, 1951) and
Joseph Hooton Taylor, Jr. (Nobel Laureate in Physics, 1993). All finalists receive awards of at least $25,000.
Demography
Since the beginning of the competition, students from New York have done very well in the Science Talent Search, although there have been finalists from all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and Guam. Certain high schools have been particularly successful at placing semifinalists and finalists in the Science Talent Search.
Top states
New York has had by far the most finalists in the competition, followed by California, Illinois, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Maryland, Florida, Virginia, Massachusetts, Texas, and Ohio.
Leading high schools in recent era
Reliable online records of the high schools attended by semifinalists and finalists are only available since 1999, when Intel took over sponsorship of the Science Talent Search, although there are newspaper articles naming the finalists from earlier years. A small group of schools have produced a large number of the recent semifinalists and finalists. A large number of semifinalists, finalists, and winners of the Science Talent Search have also attended the
Research Science Institute, a summer program hosted by the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Four specialized STEM schools top the list, averaging more than 7 semifinalists per year:
Montgomery Blair High School in Silver Spring, MD,
Bronx High School of Science
The Bronx High School of Science, commonly called Bronx Science, is a public specialized high school in The Bronx in New York City. It is operated by the New York City Department of Education. Admission to Bronx Science involves passing the Spe ...
in Bronx, NY,
Stuyvesant High School in New York, NY, and
Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology
Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology (also known as TJHSST, TJ, or Jefferson) is a Virginia state-chartered magnet high school in Fairfax County, Virginia operated by Fairfax County Public Schools.
The school occupies the b ...
in Alexandria, VA,. Many winners also come from the
Texas Academy of Mathematics and Science
The Texas Academy of Mathematics and Science (TAMS) is a two-year residential early entrance college program serving approximately 375 high school juniors and seniors at the University of North Texas. Students are admitted from every region of ...
in Denton, TX, the
North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics in Durham, NC, the
Bergen County Academies
Bergen County Academies (BCA) is a tuition-free public magnet high school located in Hackensack, New Jersey that serves students in the ninth through twelfth grades from Bergen County, New Jersey. The school was founded by John Grieco, also fou ...
in Hackensack, NJ, and the
Illinois Math and Science Academy in Aurora, IL. Among high schools without selective admissions, New York public schools top the list, with
Ward Melville High School
Ward Melville High School is a public high school in the Three Village Central School District of Suffolk County, New York on Long Island, serving grades ten through twelve. It is fed by the two junior high schools in the district: Paul J ...
in East Setauket,
Byram Hills High School
Byram Hills High School (BHHS) is a four-year co-educational public secondary school located in Armonk, New York, United States. It is the only secondary school in the Byram Hills Central School District, and serves students from the towns of Nor ...
in Armonk,
Paul D. Schreiber High School in Port Washington, and
Jericho High School
Jericho High School is an American comprehensive public high school in the hamlet of Jericho in Nassau County, New York. It is the only high school in the Jericho Union Free School District. It opened in 1959.
As of the 2014-15 school yea ...
in Jericho among the top ten. Only one private school,
The Harker School in San Jose, CA, is among the top schools.
List of prominent individuals who were past winners
See also
*
International Science and Engineering Fair
*
Broadcom MASTERS
References
External links
STS online entry systemSTS historical background
{{Authority Control
Science competitions
Society for Science & the Public
Awards established in 1942
Science Talent Search
1942 establishments in the United States
Student awards