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Colorado Student Receives $100,000 Intel First Prize
From the New York Times:
A high school senior who cultivated populations of algae under her loft bed won first place and $100,000 in the Intel Science Talent Search on Tuesday night.
The contestant, Sara Volz, 17, of Colorado Springs, Colo., researched ways to create populations of algae cells with high oil content; this algae oil can be converted into an economically feasible biofuel. “It’s something she’s worked on for years, and that shows a certain passion and drive that you don’t always see in heavily mentored projects,” said David Marker, a mathematics professor at the University of Illinois at Chicago and the chairman of the judging panel. “And what really set her off was that she’s so well-rounded in all areas of science — I was able to ask her very advanced math questions that she answers easily.”
Second prize in the contest, $75,000, was awarded to Jonah Kallenbach, 17, of Ambler, Pa., for his project, “Characterizing and Identifying Interactions of Intrinsically Disordered Proteins.” Mr. Kallenbach’s research, in the burgeoning field of bioinformatics and genomics, focused on “disordered” regions in protein chains — areas with abnormal molecular structures. These areas eventually may serve as targets for newly developed drugs to treat diseases like breast cancer, ovarian cancer and tuberculosis.
<snip -3rd place and other winnners>
The winners were chosen from more than 1,700 entries in this year’s Intel Science Talent Search, the most prestigious high school science contest in the country. Seven of its alumni have won Nobel Prizes, 11 have received MacArthur “genius” awards, and two have received Fields Medals. Four contestants this year were profiled on Tuesday in Science Times.
The contestant, Sara Volz, 17, of Colorado Springs, Colo., researched ways to create populations of algae cells with high oil content; this algae oil can be converted into an economically feasible biofuel. “It’s something she’s worked on for years, and that shows a certain passion and drive that you don’t always see in heavily mentored projects,” said David Marker, a mathematics professor at the University of Illinois at Chicago and the chairman of the judging panel. “And what really set her off was that she’s so well-rounded in all areas of science — I was able to ask her very advanced math questions that she answers easily.”
Second prize in the contest, $75,000, was awarded to Jonah Kallenbach, 17, of Ambler, Pa., for his project, “Characterizing and Identifying Interactions of Intrinsically Disordered Proteins.” Mr. Kallenbach’s research, in the burgeoning field of bioinformatics and genomics, focused on “disordered” regions in protein chains — areas with abnormal molecular structures. These areas eventually may serve as targets for newly developed drugs to treat diseases like breast cancer, ovarian cancer and tuberculosis.
<snip -3rd place and other winnners>
The winners were chosen from more than 1,700 entries in this year’s Intel Science Talent Search, the most prestigious high school science contest in the country. Seven of its alumni have won Nobel Prizes, 11 have received MacArthur “genius” awards, and two have received Fields Medals. Four contestants this year were profiled on Tuesday in Science Times.
Anyone happen to notice the gender of the recipient of first place? Women in Science...yeah.
Congratulations to all these talented young people!
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