An American reader pointed out to me that young people do not only excel at sports, but can also accomplish remarkable studies in math and science.

In the United States, the Society for Science & the Public has run a contest for students in their final year of secondary school. From 1942 through 1997, Westinghouse sponsored the contest; since 1998, Intel has sponsored it.

The Intel Science Talent Search fields about 1,600 entries from young people who do independent (individual, original) research in math and science. Each entrant submits:

  • a 20-page research report;
  • a statement from a supervising scientist;
  • recommendations from teachers;
  • details on educational and personal background;
  • various essays that:
    • abstract the research project (akin to what a scientific journal would print);
    • summarize the research in plain-language;
    • answer the question: What is a major scientific question in your field whose answer you believe will have a significant impact on the world in the next 20 years, and why?
    • answer the question: What have you done that illustrates scientific attitude, curiosity, inventiveness, and initiative? (The STS is not for the modest.)

An initial round of judging yields 300 semifinalists; each receives $1,000, and his or her school also receives $1,000. A pool of 40 finalists is invited for a week in Washington, D.C., for additional judging, cultural events, and group interaction. All receive at least $7,500 in awards. The top ten finalists receive larger awards, culminating in a $100,000 award for the first-place winner. The awards are intended to finance higher education.

Intel and the Society for Science & the Public generously posted short presentations by finalists.

This year’s first-place winner is Erika de Benedictis, from Albuquerque, New Mexico; she investigated spacecraft navigation.

The second-place winner this year is David Liu, from Saratoga, California; he developed a system to recognize and understand digital images (and tells a great story about his consulting experience).

The 2010 third-place winner is Akhil Mathew, from Madison, New Jersey; his math project examined Deligne categories.

Nearly all the finalists would like to attend the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), which deserves an award for its outreach and marketing among  scientifically inclined youth.

The Intel STS comforts those who are concerned about scientific talent in the United States. To my European friends, I would ask: why isn’t a similar contest done in Europe?