Two Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) students have been named finalists in the 2016 Intel Science Talent Search, one of the most prestigious high school science competitions in the nation. The two students are among 40 finalists nationwide and account for all but one of the three finalists in the state of Maryland.

The two finalists and their projects are:

-Arnold Mong, Montgomery Blair High School, Exposing Non-Classical Properties of the Greenberger-Horne-Zeilinger States in Perfect Correlation Cases.

-Josephine Jessica Yu, Montgomery Blair High School, Lattice and Continuum Models of Solitons and Vortices in Bilayer Graphene.

The Intel Science Talent Search is administered by the Society for Science and the Public, a nonprofit organization that is dedicated to public engagement in scientific research and education. The finalists will gather March 10–16 in Washington, D.C., to compete for three 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.

In January, the Society for Science and the Public announced the names of 300 semifinalists, who were chosen from a pool of 1,800 entries. Fourteen MCPS students were chosen as semifinalists, accounting for all but four of the 18 semifinalists in the state of Maryland.

“Congratulations to our finalists in the Intel Science Talent Search and the teachers, staff, and families that are supporting their work,” Interim Superintendent Larry Bowers said. “These students are applying what they have learned at the highest levels. We wish them the very best of luck in the finals.”

National Press Release

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