Eleven students have been named among 300 semifinalists in the 60th Intel Science Talent Search, one of the most prestigious and rigorous science competitions for high school students in the United States.

Montgomery Blair High School had 10 of the semifinalists in the county, and Thomas S. Wootton High School had one semifinalist. The 11 local students are among 14 semifinalists in Maryland, making the state third in the number of semifinalists nationwide, behind only New York and Virginia.

Each of the 300 semifinalists will receive $1,000 in recognition of their scientific achievements. In addition, each school that placed a semifinalist in the competition will receive $1,000 per semifinalist to be used for the school's science and math education programs.

The semifinalists, selected from 1,592 applicants, represent 36 states and the District of Columbia. The students were judged, based on their individual research reports, on their research ability, scientific originality and creative thinking. Research projects covered all disciplines of science, including chemistry, physics, mathematics, engineering, social science and biology. Top scientists from a variety of disciplines judged the projects.

In addition to the scholarships, all semifinalists and their teachers receive certificates of merit. Science Service, a nonprofit organization that administers the program for Intel, recommends these students to select colleges and universities for admission and financial assistance.

From the semifinalists, 40 finalists will be announced on January 31. They will attend the Science Talent Institute in Washington, D.C. in March to participate in final judging and compete for college scholarships totaling $530,000.

The local semifinalists are:

Montgomery Blair HS: Lora Armstrong, Daniel Bates, Alan Dunn, Ravi Kacker, Samantha Lockwood, Bernard Ng, William Pastor, Maria Stoica, Brinda Thomas and Christopher Williams

Thomas S. Wootton HS: Robert Kao