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Sixteen MCPS Students Named Intel Science Talent Search Semifinalists

January 8, 2015

Sixteen Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) students have been selected as semifinalists for the 2015 Intel Science Talent Search, one of the most prestigious high school science competitions in the nation. The MCPS students account for all but five of the 21 semifinalists in the state of Maryland.

The MCPS semifinalists are from four MCPS high schools—Montgomery Blair, Richard Montgomery, Walter Johnson and Poolesville.

The Intel Science Talent Search is administered by the Society for Science & the Public, a nonprofit organization that is dedicated to public engagement in scientific research and education. There were 300 semifinalists nationwide, who were chosen from a pool of nearly 1,800 entries. MCPS has been a national leader in this competition for many years and routinely is one of the school districts with the most semifinalists.

“I am extremely proud of our students who continue to display high levels of creativity, innovation, and passion in this rigorous competition,” said Superintendent of Schools Joshua P. Starr. “Congratulations to our semifinalists, their families, and the educators that are supporting them.” 

The research projects entered by MCPS semifinalists cover a broad range of scientific and math topics. Each of the semifinalists will receive a $1,000 award for his or her outstanding research. Additionally, to recognize excellence in teaching and school support, schools will receive an award of $1,000 for each semifinalist, which is to be used to further excellence in science, math, and engineering education.

Forty national finalists will be chosen on January 21. They will compete March 5-11 in Washington, D.C., for Medal of Distinction awards of $150,000 each, which will be given to students who show exceptional scientific potential in three areas: basic research, global good and innovation.

MCPS students regularly perform very well in national science competitions. In October, 16 MCPS students were named semifinalists in the Siemens Competition in Math, Science and Technology. Three of those students were named regional finalists in the competition and one student, Molly Zhang, of Richard Montgomery High School, was selected as a national finalist. Ms. Zhang competed in the national competition in December and earned a $40,000 scholarship.

The MCPS semifinalists in Intel Science Talent Search are:

Montgomery Blair High School
Matthew Daniel Das Sarma

Qingning Fan
Francis Edward Gerard
William Lu
Bennet Whitaker McGlade
Eric Michael Neyman
Sachin Pandey
Ishaan Manish Parikh
Harini Erangika Salgado
Arjuna Michael Subramanian
Michael Hofmann Winer
Dennis Si-Yang Zhao

Richard Montgomery High School
Yi-Ann Tang

Yizhen Zhang

Walter Johnson High School
Kathryn Jean Van Artsdalen

Poolesville High School
Umesh Janak Padia

A list of all the semifinalists and their projects is available on the Society for Science & the Public’s website.

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