Five successful young scientists from the Bay Area have been chosen as finalists of the Junior Nobel Prize, also known as The Regeneron Science Talent Search (Regeneron STS). The Regeneron STS is the nation’s most famous competition of science and math provided for high school seniors. This national competition has been sponsored by Regeneron since 2017. It was founded with “the goal of transforming lives through science, and its most important and social commitment has been to support the development of highly-engaged, well-trained and innovative young thinkers” (Student Science). Previously, the program was sponsored by Westinghouse in 1942, as well as Intel from 1998 to 2016.
More than 1,800 high school seniors enter and submit their research relating to the science fields selected by the Regeneron STS each year. This year the topics range between bioengineering, environmental science, and physics. According to the Society For Science And The Public, merely three hundred students qualify based on their “exceptional research skills, commitment to academics, innovative thinking, and promise as a scientist.” Each of these scholars and their respective schools receive a $2,000 reward. From here, forty finalists are selected to meet with leading scientists from all over the world in addition to members of Congress. They will also have the opportunity to present their work to the public at the National Geographic Society in Washington D.C., which in this year’s competition, will take place on March 10. The ultimate goal for these finalists is to win $1.8 million, but the minimum each will earn is still $25,000. Some may win the top ten awards that range from $40,000 to $250,000. In addition, when the Regeneron became the third sponsor of the science fair they nearly “doubled the overall award distribution to $3.1 million annually” and provided $100 million worth of commitment money to the program, in order to engage and inspire young scientists to participate.
The five students from the Bay area who were selected into the program’s forty finalists are Ayush Alag (12), Natasha Mania (12), Ruhi Sayana (12), Ananya Karthik (12), and Amol Singh (12). Alag, Maniar, and Ruhi are from The Harker School in San Jose, Karthik is from St. Francis High School in Mountain View, and Singh is from Lynbrook High School in San Jose. Their research has not yet been released to the public, but will soon be in March, when they go through judging and receive feedback from the scientists.
According to Student Science, out of the forty finalists of the Regeneron STS, “The top ten Regeneron Science Talent Search 2019 winners will be announced at a black-tie gala awards ceremony at the National Building Museum on March 12.” Many hope to see these young scientists become leaders of the world. Hala Mirza, the Senior Vice President of Corporate Communications with Citizenship at Regeneron comments, “These students are the future leaders of tomorrow and are using innovative thinking to improve our world. We hope their achievements will inspire other young people to engage with STEM.” (Prnewswire.com). As Mirza states, many alumni of the program are successful in academics.
For instance, previous winners have received the world’s most esteemed academic honors such as, “eleven National Medals of Science, five Breakthrough prizes, eighteen MacArthur Foundation Fellowships, two Fields Medals, and thirteen Nobel Prizes.” The alumni who won academic awards comment on how the Regeneron STS influenced them and helped them in order to do so. Paige Brown states, “Participating in science fairs really got me where I am today.” Another alumni, Peeyush Shrivastava, says, “Those who participate in the Science Talent Search are unified by their vision to use science to improve the quality of life, regardless of how that improvement is delivered,” (Society For Science And The Public).
The Regeneron STS grants high school students with the oppoutunity to present their scientific knowledge to the public, and win millions of dollars for their research. If any seniors at Wilcox are interested in participating, the application for the 2020 Regeneron STS is coming up soon.