ROCKVILLE, MD—Seventeen Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) students were named semifinalists in the 2009 Intel Science Talent Search, one of the most rigorous and noted science competitions for high school students in the United States.

MCPS had 17 of Maryland’s 21 semifinalists in the competition, which is administered by Society for Science and the Public, a nonprofit organization dedicated to public engagement in scientific research and education.

MCPS had more semifinalists than any other jurisdiction nationwide with the exception of New York City. With 12 semifinalists this year, Montgomery Blair High School had the second highest number of semifinalists of any school in the nation.

In addition to Montgomery Blair, MCPS had semifinalists who attend Gaithersburg, Walter Johnson, Walt Whitman and Thomas S. Wootton high schools.

“This is an extraordinary recognition for some truly amazing students and we are so proud of them and their schools,” said Shirley Brandman, president of the Montgomery County Board of Education.

“Our students continue to achieve at the highest levels,” said Dr. Jerry D. Weast, superintendent of schools, “and the Intel Science Talent Search is certainly one of the most prestigious avenues of all for these exceptional students to showcase their talents.”

The semifinalists nationwide were chosen from among 1,608 entrants representing 495 high schools in 46 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and five overseas schools.

Each of the 300 students who were named semifinalists will receive a $1,000 award for their outstanding research. Additionally, every school will receive an award of $1,000 for each semifinalist named. This award is used to further excellence in science, math, and engineering education at the recipient school.

Finalists in the competition will be named Jan. 28. They will attend the Science Talent Institute in Washington, D.C., in March, where they will participate in a final judging process and compete for nearly $1 million in scholarships.

Here are the MCPS semifinalists and their schools:

Montgomery Blair High School
Eric An
Christopher Bodine
Jean Fan
Anton Frolenkov
Edward Gan
Akimitsu Hogge
Ansh Johri
Sneha Kannan
Debattama Sen
Benjamin Shih
Sang Tian
Srinivas Vasudevan

Gaithersburg High School
Sikander Porter-Gill

Walter Johnson High School
Re-I Chin

Walt Whitman High School
Kavitha Anandalingam
Mingda Su

Thomas S. Wootton High School
Philip Kong