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Science News, Jan 30, 1999 by Peter Ulrich Weiss

The envelope please.... Judges have unveiled the names of 40 high school seniors with the starring research projects of the 1999 Intel Science Talent Search. Selected from 1,470 contestants, the finalists will partake of $330,000 in scholarships--a $125,000 increase from last year. Who shall win the lion's share depends on the next round of competition.

After 6 days of additional judging and interviews starting March 3, 10 winners will emerge to claim the top awards. The first-place prize is $50,000, and second and third places receive $40,000 and $30,000, respectively. Fourth through sixth places win $20,000 each, and seventh through tenth places win $15,000 apiece. The remaining 30 finalists each receive $3,000.

This year's finalist group includes 22 boys and 18 girls. The number of female finalists leaped 20 percent from last year. Among the group's ranks are the second home-schooled finalist in the competition's history, the youngest finalist--age 14--since 1978, and the first finalists in more than an decade from Louisiana and Puerto Rico.

The students' research projects spanned the sciences, including astrophysics, biology, ecology, math, physics, and psychology.

Science Service, the publisher of Science News, has administered the 58-year-old competition since its inception. In previous years, the Science Talent Search was sponsored by Westinghouse. Intel Corp. assumed sponsorship of the contest in March 1998.

Craig R. Barrett, Intel's president and chief executive officer, saluted the finalists. "The success of the United States depends in large measure on continuing to lead the world in innovation and production of high-tech products. The next better ideas will come from these young scientists," he said. Barrett will present the awards March 8.

The 40 finalists are:

* California: Leon Marcel Bellan, Polytechnic School, Pasadena; Rio Gabriel Bennin, home-schooled, Berkeley; Erika Natalie Ebbel, Crystal Springs Uplands School, Hillsborough; Nathan Andrew Fleischaker, La Costa Canyon H.S., Carlsbad; Michael Yen Ming Lew, La Jolla H.S., La Jolla.

* Colorado: Natalia Toro, Fairview H.S., Boulder.

* Connecticut: Mary Alice Dombrowski, Glastonbury H.S., Glastonbury.

* Florida: David Lee Harden, South Miami Senior H.S., Miami.

* Georgia: Charles Rollin Mathis, Oconee County H.S., Watkinsville.

* Hawaii: Emi Malia Eno, Henry Perrine Baldwin H.S., Wailuku.

* Illinois: Keith Jonathan Winstein, Illinois Math & Science Academy, Aurora.

* Iowa: Carol Anne Fassbinder, Valley Community H.S., Elgin.

* Louisiana: Rachel Anne Cox, Airline H.S., Bossier City.

* Maryland: Wei-Li Deng, James Michael Hansen, Grace C-Hwei Lin, Michael Randolph Maire, David C. Moore, and Scott Michael Safranek, all of Montgomery Blair H.S., Silver Spring.

* Massachusetts: Seth Abrams Ament, Falmouth Academy, Falmouth; Scott Alexander Fruhan, The Roxbury Latin School, West Roxbury.

* New Jersey: Binh Dao Vo, Governor Livingston Regional H.S., Berkeley Heights.

* New York: Trevor Alan Bass, Great Neck South H.S., Great Neck; Cullen H. Blake, Bethlehem Central H.S., Delmar; Angela Patricia Burgess, Bronx H.S. of Science, Bronx; Lauren Cooper, Roslyn H.S., Roslyn Heights; Daniel H. Grollman, Bronx H.S. of Science, Bronx; Shana Traci Lippel, Lawrence H.S., Cedarhurst; Lisa Beth Schwartz, Roslyn H.S., Roslyn Heights; Eric David Stern, Great Neck South H.S., Great Neck; Nicholas Joseph Superina, Smithtown H.S., Smithtown; Diana Barnard Townsend-Butterworth, The Chapin School, New York; Kirsten Graham Wickelgren, Stuyvesant H.S., New York; Alexander David Wissner-Gross, Great Neck South H.S., Great Neck.

* Oregon: Patricia Jeanne Semura, Oregon Episcopal School, Portland.

* Pennsylvania: Brett Charles De Poister, Central Catholic H.S., Reading.

* Puerto Rico: Dorimar Morales, Colegio Maria Auxiliadora H.S., Carolina.

* Virginia: Sirisha Venkata Kalicheti, Chantilly H.S., Chantilly; Kurt Elliott Mitman, Thomas Jefferson H.S. for Science & Technology, Alexandria.

* Washington: Constance JoAnne Wang, Hanford H.S., Richland.