Intel Science Talent Search

The Intel Science Talent Search (Intel STS) is a research-based science competition in the United States primarily for high school students. It has been referred to "the nation's oldest and most prestigious" [cite web
url=http://www.usnews.com/articles/education/k-12/2008/02/01/stuyvesant-high-school-students-ace-the-intel-competition.html
title=Stuyvesant High School Students Ace the Intel Competition
last=Ramírez
first=Eddy
publisher=U.S.News & World Report
date= February 1, 2008
accessdate=2008-03-15] science competition, and the Westinghouse/Intel awards have been referred to as the "Baby Nobels." [cite web
url=http://www.slate.com/id/2097415
title=Baby Nobels
last=Hulbert
first=Ann
publisher=Slate Magazine
date=March 19, 2004
accessdate=2008-03-15
The term "Baby Nobels" is more widely applied to the Gairdner Foundation International Award.] In his speech at the dinner honoring the 1991 Winners, President George H. W. Bush called the competition the "Super Bowl of science." [cite web
url=http://www.math.uncc.edu/~hbreiter/doc9.htm
title=Nurturing Science's Young Elite: Westinghouse Talent Search
first=Scott
last=Huler
publisher=The Scientist
date=April 15, 1991
accessdate=2008-03-15]

The Intel STS is administered by the Society for Science & the Public, which began the competition in 1942 with Westinghouse; for many years, the competition was known as the "Westinghouse Science Talent Search." In 1998, Intel became the sponsor after it outbid Siemens, which had acquired Westinghouse's power generation unit . (Siemens subsequently sponsored its own competition.) Over the years, over $3.8 million in scholarships have been awarded through the program.

Nearly all of the entrants work with mentors, as high school students typically do not have the capabilities of doing research projects entirely on their own. The mentors are usually professional researchers, [cite web
url=http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=104&STORY=/www/story/1-27-98/402104&EDATE=
title=Finalists Named in 57th Annual Westinghouse Science Talent Search
publisher=PR Newswire Association LLC
date=January 26, 1998
accessdate=2008-03-15] Fact|date=March 2008 and the entrants' work is ordinarily performed over two years in those laboratories.Fact|date=March 2008 However, the research papers must be all in the entrants' own writing, and the teenage Finalists' papers are regarded to be "college-level, professional quality." [cite web
url=http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C0CEED7133AF937A35750C0A966958260&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=all
title=Students in Science Contest Aim At the 'Frontiers of Technology'
last=Romano
first=Jay
publisher=The New York Times
date=March 4, 1990
accessdate=2008-03-15] Fact|date=March 2008 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 1,600 papers are submitted. The top 300 applicants are announced in mid-January with each semifinalist and their school receiving $1,000. In late January, the 40 finalists (the scholarship winners) are informed. In March, the finalists are flown to Washington, D.C. where they are interviewed for the top ten spots, which have scholarships ranging from $20,000 to $100,000 for the first prize winner. By tradition, at least one of the interviewers is a Nobel Laureate, and the interviewers have included Glenn T. Seaborg (Nobel Laureate with Edwin M. McMillan in Chemistry, 1951) and Joseph Taylor (Nobel Laureate in Physics, 1993).Fact|date=March 2008 In addition, all finalists receive $5,000 scholarships and an Intel-based computer.

Some Intel STS finalists and winners have gone on to receive higher honors in mathematics, science, and technology: among them, six have received Nobel Prizes; two have earned the Fields Medal; three have been awarded the National Medal of Science; ten have won the MacArthur Fellowship; 56 have been named Sloan Research Fellows; 30 have been elected to the National Academy of Sciences; and five have been elected to the National Academy of Engineering.

Notes

External links

* [http://www.societyforscience.org/sts/results/index.asp Intel STS website]