Science News at ISEF 2009

Highlights from the 2009 Intel Science and Engineering Fair in Reno, Nev.

May 19, 2009 at 4:02 pm

Highlights from the 2009 Intel Science and Engineering Fair in Reno, Nev.

Li Boynton, 17, of Houston; Tara Adiseshan, 14, of Charlottesville, Va.; and Olivia Schwob, 16, of Boston were the top three winners of the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair 2009. Each received a $50,000 scholarship from the Intel Foundation.
Intel ISEF winners announced
Projects on smarter roundworms, glowing bacteria as pollutant detectors and the shared history of bees and nematodes take three top spots

RENO, Nev. — What happens in Reno doesn’t stay in Reno, and some high school students are very pleased about that. On May 15, three top finalists at the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair hit the jackpot, each winning a $50,000 scholarship from the Intel Foundation. Those prizes were part of nearly $4 million in scholarships, tuition grants and scientific trips and equipment awarded at the world’s largest high-school science competition.

Students present projects at 2009 ISEF
Flatworms, inflatable suits and alternatives to windmills make appearances in Reno

RENO, Nev. — The baking soda–volcano experiment is as ancient as a rotary phone for today’s teens. Thousands of high school students spent May 13 manning their booths and explaining the research that won each a spot at the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair. Projects included devices to improve gas mileage in today’s cars and to protect against fraud in the credit cards of tomorrow. One student spent hours investigating the light reflected by the moon, another delved into the genetic signature of colorectal cancer. Read more .

Physics Nobel laureate Leon Lederman poses with students. He said education is the aspect of science that society most overlooks.
On imagination, knowledge, art, science and … ET
High schoolers at the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair probe the minds of distinguished scientists

RENO, Nev. — In a ceremony that’s referred to as “the passing of the torch,” hundreds of high school science students took part in a Q and A with a panel of Nobel laureates and distinguished scientists May 12. A more fitting title might be “the passing of the Bunsen burner or mass spectrometer.”

Eight giants of science offered advice to the packed auditorium during this year’s Intel International Science and Engineering Fair, which has almost 1,600 participants.