Regeneron Science Talent Search

The Regeneron Science Talent Search, known for its first 57 years^[1] as the Westinghouse Science Talent Search, and then as the Intel Science Talent Search (Intel STS) from 1998 through 2016,^[2] is a research-based science competition in the United States for high school seniors. It has been referred to as "the nation's oldest and most prestigious" ^[3] science competition. In his speech at the dinner honoring the 1991 Winners, President George H. W. Bush called the competition the "Super Bowl of science."^[4]

Regeneron Science Talent Search
Country	United States
Website	http://www.societyforscience.org/sts

The 2002 Intel Science Talent Search finalist banquet held at the Ronald Reagan Building in Washington, D.C., where the ten winners were announced and all 40 finalists were acknowledged

History

The Society for Science began the competition in 1942 with Westinghouse Electric Corporation; for many years, the competition was known as the Westinghouse Science Talent Search. In 1998, Intel became the sponsor after it outbid several other companies.^[5] In May 2016, it was announced that Regeneron Pharmaceuticals would be the new title sponsor.^[6] Over the years, some 147,000 students have entered the competition. Over 22,000 have been named semifinalists and 2,920 have traveled to Washington, D.C., as contest finalists. Collectively, they have received millions of dollars in scholarships and gone on, in later years, to capture Nobel Prizes, Fields Medals, MacArthur Fellowships and numerous other accolades.^[7]

Thirteen alumni of the Science Talent Search went on to receive Nobel Prizes, two earned the Fields Medal, eleven have been awarded the National Medal of Science, twenty received MacArthur Fellowships; three have won the Albert Lasker Award for Basic Medical Research; seven have won a Breakthrough Prize; and many have been elected to the National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Engineering.^[7]

Competition

Entrants to the competition conduct original research—sometimes at home and sometimes by working with leading research teams at universities, hospitals and private laboratories.^[8] The selection process is highly competitive, and besides the research paper, letters of recommendation, essays, test scores, extracurricular activities, and high school transcripts may be factored in the selection of finalists and winners.

Awards (as of 2023^[9])

Award	Prize
First place	$250,000
Second place	$175,000
Third place	$150,000
Fourth place	$100,000
Fifth place	$90,000
Sixth place	$80,000
Seventh place	$70,000
Eighth place	$60,000
Ninth place	$50,000
Tenth place	$40,000
30 finalists	$25,000
300 semifinalists	$2,000

Each year, approximately 2,000 projects are submitted. The top 300 STS Scholars are announced in mid-January and each receive $2,000. In addition to the scholar award money, each scholar’s school receives an award of $2,000 from the title sponsor for each scholar named.^[10] In late January, the Top 40 Finalists (the award winners) are announced. In March, the Finalists are flown to Washington, D.C. for a week where they are interviewed by a judging panel about their projects, and to assess the breadth and depth of STEM knowledge, creativity and problem solving abilities. The judges have included Glenn T. Seaborg (Nobel Laureate with Edwin M. McMillan in Chemistry, 1951) and Joseph Hooton Taylor, Jr. (Nobel Laureate in Physics, 1993). The Top 40 Finalists receive awards of at least $25,000 and the winners are announced at an awards ceremony in Washington, D.C.^[11]

Demography

The Science Talent Search is open to high school seniors living in the United States.^[12] Since the beginning of the competition, a large number of winners have come from New York, representing nearly one-third of the finalists in the years that Westinghouse sponsored the competition.^[13] New York has continued to lead the states in finalists in more recent years, more closely followed by California, and with significant numbers of finalists from Maryland, Texas, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Florida, Virginia, and Illinois. ^{[13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22]}

Top states for finalists
State	Total finalists	Westinghouse (1942-1998)	Intel (1999–2016)	Regeneron (2017–2025)
New York	1038	752	215	71
California	329	163	103	63
Illinois	174	149	24	1
Pennsylvania	131	101	18	12
Maryland	125	65	45	15
New Jersey	127	87	24	16
Florida	125	84	24	16
Virginia	120	82	16	22
Massachusetts	109	68	24	17
Texas	105	54	32	19
Ohio	93	78	10	5
Wisconsin	60	48	9	3
Michigan	59	37	15	7
Oregon	60	30	20	10
Indiana	56	43	9	4
Connecticut	56	30	18	8

Finalists by state (1942–2025)
State	1942	1943	1944	1945	1946	1947	1948	1949	1950	1951	1952	1953	1954	1955	1956	1957	1958	1959	1960	1961	1962	1963	1964	1965	1966	1967	1968	1969	1970	1971	1972	1973	1974	1975	1976	1977	1978	1979	1980	1981	1982	1983	1984	1985	1986	1987	1988	1989	1990	1991	1992	1993	1994	1995	1996	1997	1998	1999	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007	2008	2009	2010	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016	2017	2018	2019	2020	2021	2022	2023	2024	2025
Alabama	0	0	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	1	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	1	1	1	0	0	1	0	1	0	0	2	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	1	1	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
Alaska	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Arizona	0	0	1	1	0	0	1	0	1	0	2	1	1	0	2	1	1	0	2	1	2	1	1	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	1	0	0	1	1	0	0	1	0	1	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	1	0	1	1	2	0
Arkansas	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0
California	3	2	1	1	5	3	3	3	2	4	3	3	2	3	4	1	4	3	2	0	5	5	3	3	1	3	5	4	2	2	3	4	2	5	3	1	3	3	5	4	4	0	1	3	3	1	3	1	4	3	4	2	1	3	6	2	4	5	4	4	1	2	3	4	3	3	0	5	8	11	10	7	12	11	10	6	7	8	2	9	7	9	8	6
Colorado	0	0	0	0	1	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	1	0	2	0	1	0	0	0	0	1	1	0	0	0	1	1	1	1	0	0	0	2	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	1	0	1	1	0	0	1	1	1	0	0	1	0	0	0	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	1	0	0	3	0	1	0	0	1	1	0
Connecticut	0	1	0	0	2	2	1	0	1	0	1	0	2	3	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	1	0	1	0	0	1	0	1	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	1	0	1	1	1	0	1	0	1	1	0	0	1	1	0	1	1	0	0	0	0	1	0	2	1	2	1	0	2	1	0	1	1	2	1	1	1	0	1	2	0	0	1	2	0	2	1	0
Delaware	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	1	1	0	1	0
District of Columbia	0	0	1	0	1	1	0	2	0	0	1	0	1	0	1	0	1	0	1	1	0	1	0	0	0	1	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Florida	0	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	2	2	5	2	2	1	1	2	2	3	1	3	4	2	1	3	1	4	0	2	2	3	0	4	1	3	4	2	3	1	0	1	1	1	1	3	3	2	3	1	2	2	0	5	0	4	1	0	1	1	0	2	1	1	0	1	2	3	2	0	1	1	2	3	2	2
Georgia	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	2	0	0	1	1	0	0	0	2	0	2	0	1	2	1	0	0	1	0	1	0	0	1	0	1	0	0	0	0	1	0	1	0	1	0	1	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	2	0	0	1	1	0	0	1	0	0	0	1	2	1	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	1	0	0	0
Hawaii	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	2	0	2	0	1	1	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	1	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	1
Idaho	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Illinois	3	3	2	6	4	4	3	2	0	1	4	2	3	5	3	5	3	4	4	4	2	1	1	4	2	4	3	4	7	6	2	2	1	3	3	0	3	2	2	2	5	1	2	3	0	5	2	3	1	2	2	1	0	0	0	2	1	1	0	0	5	0	0	4	3	1	0	2	2	1	2	1	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0
Indiana	3	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	1	0	2	2	1	1	3	3	1	2	2	2	0	0	1	0	2	1	1	1	0	0	1	1	0	0	1	2	0	0	1	0	1	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	0	1	0	0	1	0	0	1	1	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	2	1	1	0	1	1	0	0	2	0	1	0	0	0
Iowa	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	1	0	0	1	0	0	0	1	1	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	1	0	0	0	2	0	0	0	1	1	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	1	0	0	0
Kansas	1	0	0	0	2	0	0	1	0	1	0	0	0	1	0	1	0	0	0	0	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	1	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Kentucky	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	2	1	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	2	0	1	0	0	0	0
Louisiana	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	1	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	1	1	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	1	0
Maine	0	1	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	2	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0
Maryland	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	2	0	1	0	2	2	0	2	0	1	4	1	2	1	1	1	1	0	0	1	0	1	2	1	2	3	2	1	1	1	2	0	0	2	0	2	4	1	5	5	0	1	2	0	4	6	3	2	4	1	4	4	4	3	2	0	1	0	1	1	4	2	3	3	5	3	1	2	0	0	1	0
Massachusetts	0	0	0	0	0	1	2	1	1	2	1	1	0	1	1	1	3	2	3	2	2	4	2	1	3	2	3	1	1	0	2	0	0	2	2	1	2	0	0	0	0	1	2	3	0	1	2	1	1	0	1	0	4	0	2	0	0	2	2	1	1	1	2	1	1	0	1	1	1	1	1	2	3	1	2	1	4	1	3	1	1	2	1	3
Michigan	0	0	1	1	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	1	0	1	1	2	0	1	2	1	2	3	3	1	1	0	1	0	0	1	3	1	0	1	0	0	0	0	1	1	1	1	3	1	0	1	1	3	1	0	0	1	1	0	1	1	1	1	2	0	0
Minnesota	1	0	0	0	1	1	0	0	0	1	0	1	2	0	2	0	0	0	2	0	0	0	0	1	2	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	3	2	1	0	1	1	0	0	1	1	1	1	1	0	0	0	2	0	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0
Mississippi	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	0	1	0	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Missouri	0	2	0	1	1	0	1	2	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	1	0	0	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	1	0	0	2	0	0	0	1	0	1	1	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0
Montana	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	1	1	1	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	0	0	0	1	1	0	0	0	1	1	0	0	0	1	0	0	1	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Nebraska	0	0	0	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	0	0	1	0	1	1	0	0	1	0	0	1	1	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	1	0	1	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Nevada	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	1	0
New Hampshire	0	1	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	1	0	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	2	1	0	0	1	1	0	3	0
New Jersey	2	2	4	1	3	3	3	2	1	3	3	2	2	3	2	1	2	1	3	0	0	2	3	2	1	0	2	1	0	1	1	1	2	1	3	0	2	1	0	2	2	0	3	2	0	0	1	1	2	3	1	0	0	1	1	2	0	1	0	0	2	0	0	0	0	3	1	3	2	3	1	2	2	4	0	3	0	2	4	1	2	0	1	3
New Mexico	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	2	0	1	0	1	0	1	0	1	0	1	1	0	0	0	0	1	0	1	0	0	1	0	1	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	0	0	0	0	1
New York	17	9	14	15	11	14	14	13	23	14	18	15	13	10	8	11	9	9	8	11	14	10	12	10	9	7	6	9	14	11	11	12	9	10	13	14	14	15	14	17	15	19	17	12	15	15	16	19	19	14	20	7	14	15	15	18	15	12	17	13	15	20	18	13	13	12	15	9	11	7	10	7	7	8	8	8	5	9	8	6	10	8	9	8
North Carolina	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	1	0	2	0	2	0	0	0	0	2	0	0	1	0	0	0	1	1	0	1	2	0	0	2	1	0	1	0	1	0	0	1	4	0	3
North Dakota	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Ohio	0	4	3	1	0	3	4	3	2	3	0	1	0	2	0	3	1	3	0	3	3	1	0	2	3	4	2	2	1	2	1	1	2	0	3	1	1	0	0	0	3	0	1	0	2	2	1	1	0	1	0	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	0	0	0	1	1	1	0	3	0	0	0	0	0	1	1	0	1	0	1	1	0	0	0	2
Oklahoma	0	2	0	0	1	0	0	1	0	0	0	1	1	0	1	1	0	0	1	0	0	1	0	0	1	0	0	1	1	0	0	0	2	1	1	1	0	1	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	1	0	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	2	1	0	0	0	0	0
Oregon	1	0	0	1	1	1	1	1	2	2	0	1	2	0	1	2	1	0	0	1	0	1	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	0	1	1	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	0	1	0	1	0	1	0	1	2	0	2	1	1	2	1	2	0	3	0	2	1	1	2	0	2	3	0	0	1	1
Pennsylvania	2	6	3	2	4	2	1	3	1	3	0	2	2	1	1	1	2	3	1	0	3	1	2	1	2	3	5	3	4	4	1	1	4	2	1	3	2	0	0	0	1	0	0	3	4	2	1	2	2	1	1	0	1	0	0	1	0	1	1	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	4	1	0	2	1	3	0	1	2	2	2	2	0	0	3	0	2	1
Rhode Island	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	1	1	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1
South Carolina	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	1	1	0	0	0	1	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	0	0	0	0	0
South Dakota	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	1	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Tennessee	0	0	0	1	0	1	0	1	1	1	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	1	1	0	0	0	1	0	1	0	1	0	0	1	1	0	0	1	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	1	0	1	0	0	1	0	0	0	1	0	1
Texas	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	1	1	0	0	1	0	1	1	2	1	1	1	2	0	3	1	4	2	1	3	1	3	0	0	1	1	2	1	3	1	2	0	0	0	0	1	0	1	1	0	2	1	2	2	1	1	0	2	2	2	1	1	2	0	2	3	2	3	3	3	1	3	1	1	3	2	1	1	5	2	2	1	2
Utah	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Vermont	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Virginia	0	1	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	1	0	0	2	0	1	1	1	1	0	1	4	1	2	3	2	3	0	3	0	1	2	1	2	3	1	2	2	2	0	1	0	4	2	1	3	1	2	4	2	4	2	1	4	3	3	2	0	2	0	0	2	0	1	1	1	2	1	0	1	1	0	1	1	1	4	3	2	3	2	3	2	3
Washington	0	0	0	0	2	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	1	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	2	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	1	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	1	0	0	1	0	1	0	1	0	1	1	0	0	0	0	1	1	0	1	0	1	0	1	0	0	1	0	1	0	1	0	1	1	1	1	2
West Virginia	2	1	1	0	1	1	0	0	0	1	0	0	1	2	0	1	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	1	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Wisconsin	3	2	4	5	0	1	2	1	0	0	0	1	0	2	2	1	1	2	1	0	1	0	0	2	0	0	0	0	0	2	0	1	1	1	0	1	0	0	1	1	1	1	1	1	0	0	1	0	0	0	1	1	1	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	1	1	0	1	3	1	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	1	2	0	0	0	0	0
Wyoming	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Puerto Rico	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Guam	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

Certain high schools have been particularly successful at placing semifinalists and finalists in the Science Talent Search.^[23] From the early years of the competition, two specialized high schools in New York City dominated the competition: Bronx High School of Science and Stuyvesant High School.^[24][25][26] Other New York schools have also had notable success in the competition, including Ward Melville High School in East Setauket, Byram Hills High School in Armonk, Jericho High School in Jericho, and Paul D. Schreiber Senior High School in Port Washington.^[26][27][28] In the 1980s and 1990s, other specialized STEM schools, including Virginia's Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology and Maryland's Montgomery Blair High School, began to produce large numbers of finalists to rival the New York schools.^{[26][29][30][31]} In the 21st century, a new group of specialized STEM schools have had growing success in the competition, including New Jersey's Bergen County Academies, and the private Harker School in California.^[32][33]

List of prominent individuals who were past winners

Finalist[7]	Year	Placed[13]	High School	Notability
Evelyne Peace Tyner	1942	Finalist		Environmentalist who conserved large areas of native prairie with a ecology centre named after her, awarded the LEED award.
Robert Kraichnan	1944	2nd boy		National Academy of Sciences
Ben Mottelson	1944	Finalist	Lyons Township High School	1975 Nobel Prize in Physics
Andrew Sessler	1945	Finalist	Forest Hills High School	National Academy of Sciences
Gerald Edelman	1946	Semifinalist	John Adams High School	1972 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine
Leon Cooper	1947	Finalist	Bronx High School of Science	1972 Nobel Prize in Physics
Martin Karplus	1947	Top Boy	Newton High School	2013 Nobel Prize in Chemistry
Ronald Breslow	1948	Finalist		1991 National Medal of Science
R. Stephen Berry	1948	Finalist	East High School	1983 MacArthur Fellowship, National Academy of Sciences
Walter Gilbert	1949	Finalist	Sidwell Friends School	1980 Nobel Prize in Chemistry
Sheldon Glashow	1950	Finalist	Bronx High School of Science	1979 Nobel Prize in Physics
Paul Cohen	1950	Finalist	Stuyvesant High School	1966 Fields Medal
John L. Hall	1952	Semifinalist	South High School	2005 Nobel Prize in Physics
David Mumford	1953	Finalist	Phillips Exeter Academy	1974 Fields Medal
Joanna Russ	1953	Top Ten	William Howard Taft High School	Hugo and Nebula Awards, author of The Female Man
Marcian Hoff	1954	Top Ten	Churchville-Chili Senior High School	2009 National Medal of Technology and Innovation
Roald Hoffmann	1955	Finalist	Stuyvesant High School	1981 Nobel Prize in Chemistry
Leroy Hood	1956	Finalist	Shelby High School	2011 National Medal of Science
Donald Knuth	1956	Semifinalist[34]	Milwaukee Lutheran High School	1974 Turing Award, 1979 National Medal of Science
Kip Thorne	1958	Semifinalist	Logan High School	2017 Nobel Prize in Physics
Charles H. Bennett	1960	4th Place	Croton-Harmon High School	2023 Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics
Robert Axelrod	1961	Finalist	Evanston Township High School	2012 National Medal of Science
Gary A. Wegner	1963	Finalist	Bothell High School	Humboldt Prize
Paul L. Modrich	1964	Semifinalist	Raton High School	2015 Nobel Prize in Chemistry
Ray Kurzweil	1965	Finalist	Martin Van Buren High School	1999 National Medal of Technology and Innovation
Frank Wilczek	1967	Finalist	Martin Van Buren High School	2004 Nobel Prize in Physics
Alvin Roth	1968	Semifinalist	Martin Van Buren High School	2012 Nobel Prize in Economics
Roger Y. Tsien	1968	1st Place	Livingston High School	2008 Nobel Prize in Chemistry
Gordon J. Freeman	1969	Finalist	Arlington Heights High School	National Academy of Sciences
Thomas Felix Rosenbaum	1973	Finalist	Forest Hills High School	President, California Institute of Technology
Eric Lander	1974	1st Place	Stuyvesant High School	2014 Breakthrough Prize in Life Sciences
F. Thomson Leighton	1974	2nd Place	Stuyvesant High School	National Academy of Sciences, Akamai Technologies co-founder and CEO
Paul Zeitz	1975	1st Place	Stuyvesant High School	1974 USAMO Winner
George Yancopoulos	1976	Top Ten	Bronx High School of Science	National Academy of Sciences, Regeneron Pharmaceuticals co-founder and CSO
Richard H. Ebright	1977	Finalist	Muhlenberg High School	American Academy of Arts and Sciences
Ron Unz	1979	1st Place	North Hollywood High School	Wall Street Analytics founder; political activist
Lisa Randall	1980	1st Place	Stuyvesant High School	National Academy of Sciences
Brian Greene	1980	Finalist	Stuyvesant High School	The Elegant Universe author
Noam Elkies	1982	Finalist	Stuyvesant High School	2004 Levi L. Conant Prize
Wendy Chung	1986	1st Place	Miami Killian High School	American Academy of Pediatrics Young Investigator Award
Jordan Ellenberg	1989	2nd Place	Winston Churchill High School	American Mathematical Society Fellow
Matthew Headrick	1990	1st Place	University of Chicago Laboratory Schools	High h-index/highly cited physicist
David R. Liu	1990	2nd Place	Riverside Poly High School	National Academy of Sciences
Maneesh Agrawala	1990	Finalist	Montgomery Blair High School	2009 MacArthur Fellowship
Christopher Bouton	1992	Finalist	Saint Ann's School (Brooklyn)	Entagen founder and CEO
Wei-Hwa Huang	1993	6th Place	Montgomery Blair High School	World Puzzle Champion 1995, 1997-1999
Robert Sarvis	1994	4th Place	Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology	Libertarian politician
Daniel Biss	1995	Finalist	Bloomington North High School	Mayor of Evanston, Illinois
Jacob Lurie	1996	1st Place	Montgomery Blair High School	2014 Breakthrough Prize in Mathematics
Bill Thies	1997	Finalist	State College Area High School	2016 MacArthur Fellowship
Natalie Portman	1999	Semifinalist	Syosset High School	Academy Award and Golden Globe Award winning Actor
Keith Winstein	1999	4th Place	Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy	2014 SIGCOMM Doctoral Dissertation Award
Feng Zhang	2000	3rd Place	Theodore Roosevelt High School	National Academy of Sciences
Mariangela Lisanti	2001	1st Place	Staples High School	2013 Blavatnik Awards for Young Scientists
Tianhui Michael Li	2003	2nd Place	Oregon Episcopal School	Marshall Scholar, Hertz Foundation Fellow, data scientist, founder and CEO of The Data Incubator[35]
Lester Mackey	2003	6th Place	Half Hollow Hills High School West	2023 MacArthur Fellowship

See also

• International Science and Engineering Fair
• Broadcom MASTERS