From more than 1,700 entrants representing 467 high schools across the nation in what is arguably one of the most prestigious pre-college science competitions, one Mountain View student is in the running for the top prize of $100,000.
The Intel Science Talent Search released the names of the 300 students who will receive a $1,000 award and go on to compete to land in a pool of 40 finalists.
Jerry Liu, 17, who attends Los Altos High School is among the semifinalists for his research project, Modeling the Lithiation of Crystalline-Amorphous Silicon Nanowires using the Lattice Boltzmann Method.
The competition is part of a program of Society for Science and the Public (SSP) and has seen seven alumnus go on to become Nobel Laureates, two receive the Fields Medal, five earned the National Medal of Science and more earned a host of other awards.
The competition began in 1942 in partnership with Westinghouse and then in 1998 it partnered with Intel.
Making it to the semifinalist round is a badge of honor and the students are provided with a certificate of accomplishment to send along with college admission or scholarship applications.
From the group of 300 semifinalists, Intel will narrow that to 40 finalists who will be chosen to attend the Intel Science Talent Institute in Washington, DC from March 7–13. More judging will occur and the group will ultimately share $630,000 in awards.
