The Intel Science Talent Search concluded on Tuesday, March 10, awarding teen geniuses from across the country for their excellence in math and science.
Over $1 million have been awarded by the Intel Corporation in the most prestigious pre-college competition carried out by the Society for Science & the Public.
Beginning 2015, the Intel Science Talent Search offered bigger rewards in recognition of the work the finalists made, now awarding $150,000 to three first-place winners in the categories of Basic Research, Innovation, and Global Good. The grand prize was previously set at $100,000.
A Medal of Distinction for Basic Research was given to Noah Golowich of Lexington, Massachusetts. The award recognizes exceptional scientific potential via research depth and analysis, which Golowich exhibited when he developed proof for the Ramsey theory, a mathematics field based on finding structure types in large, complicated systems. The 17-year-old is also part of his high school tennis team and captains the math team.
For Innovation, the Medal of Distinction was awarded to Michael Hofmann Winer, an 18-year-old from North Bethesda, Maryland. The award celebrates problem-solving aptitude in engineers through creativity and innovative design. Winer worked on phonons, fundamental sound quasi-particles, and studied how they interact with electrons. In 2014, he was a silver medalist at the International Physics Olympiad.
Andrew Jin took home the Medal of Distinction for Global Good, which recognizes great scientific potential in one's desire to make a difference. The 17-year-old from San Jose, California developed an algorithm that allowed for the identification of adaptive mutations in the human genome. When Jin is not unraveling genes, he is an accomplished pianist. He's performed before at the Carnegie Hall.
"A solid foundation in science, technology, engineering and math creates the critical talent corporations and startups need to drive their business and contribute to economic development. We hope this program will encourage other young people to become the next generation of scientists, inventors and engineers," said Renee James, Intel Corporation president.
Second-place awards were given to Brice Huang, Saranesh Thanika Prembabu and Kalia D. Firester, while Shashwat Kishore, Catherine Li and Anvita Gupta received third-place recognition. Huang, Prembabu and Firester got $75,000 each while Kishore, Li and Gupta each went home with $35,000. Along with Golowich, Winer and Jin, they bested more than 1,800 high school seniors who participated in the 2015 Intel Science Talent Search from 36 schools across 18 states.
Over the past 10 years, Intel Corporation and the Intel Foundation have invested over $1 billion to improving mathematics, science, technology and engineering education in over 100 territories, regions and countries.
