Science Talent Search

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 began the competition in 1942 with Westinghouse Electric Corporation; 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 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 Medals, MacArthur Fellowships and numerous other accolades.

Thirteen went on to receive Nobel Prizes, two earned the Fields Medal, eleven have been awarded the National Medal of Science, eighteen received MacArthur Fellowships; three have won the Albert Lasker Award 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 (Nobel Laureate with Edwin M. McMillan 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 in Bronx, NY, Stuyvesant High School in New York, NY, and Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology in Alexandria, VA,. Many winners also come from the Texas Academy of Mathematics and Science in Denton, TX, the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics in Durham, NC, the Bergen County Academies 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 in East Setauket, Byram Hills High School in Armonk, Paul D. Schreiber High School in Port Washington, and Jericho High School 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 system

STS 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