Regeneron 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 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 & the Public 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 have decided to hold 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.
AwardPrize
First Place$250,000
Second Place$175,000
Third Place$150,000
Fourth Place$100,000
Fifth Place$90,000
Sixth Place$80,000
Seventh Place$70,000
Eighth Place$60,000
Ninth Place$50,000
Tenth Place$40,000
40 Finalists$25,000
300 Semifinalists$2,000

Each year, approximately 1,800 papers are submitted. The top 300 applicants are announced in mid-January and since 2017 each semifinalist and their school receives $2,000 from the title sponsor. In late January, the 40 Finalists 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 and Joseph Hooton Taylor, Jr.. 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.
Four specialized STEM schools top the list, averaging more than 8 semifinalists per year: Montgomery Blair High School in Silver Spring, MD, Stuyvesant High School in New York, NY, Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology in Alexandria, VA, and Bronx High School of Science in Bronx, NY. 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 Sautuket, 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.
SchoolCityStateSemi-finalistsFinalists
Montgomery Blair High SchoolSilver SpringMD22543
Stuyvesant High SchoolNew YorkNY19222
Bronx High School of ScienceNew YorkNY18511
Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and TechnologyAlexandriaVA17718
Ward Melville High SchoolEast SetauketNY14312
Byram Hills High SchoolArmonkNY10417
Jericho High SchoolJerichoNY10112
Texas Academy of Mathematics and ScienceDentonTX9711
Paul D. Schreiber High SchoolPort WashingtonNY966
The Harker SchoolSan JoseCA9419
North Carolina School of Science and MathematicsDurhamNC944
Bergen County AcademiesHackensackNJ8910
Ossining High SchoolOssiningNY765
Roslyn High SchoolRoslynNY728
Great Neck North High SchoolGreat NeckNY727
Great Neck South High SchoolGreat NeckNY535
John F. Kennedy High SchoolBellmoreNY516
Midwood High SchoolBrooklynNY505
Lawrence High SchoolCedarhurstNY493
Illinois Math and Science AcademyAuroraIL489
Lynbrook High SchoolSan JoseCA438
Hunter College High SchoolNew YorkNY415
Greenwich High SchoolGreenwichCT386

List of prominent individuals who were past winners