Kim Warren-Martin, Women's Initiative Manager for Intel Global Diversity and Inclusion, generously extended an invitation to the Anita Borg Institute to attend the 2011 Intel Science Talent Search Gala held in Washington, DC on March 15, 2011. I was the lucky attendee on behalf of the Institute.
Forty finalists—high school seniors chosen from over 1,700 applicants—spent a week in Washington DC, including meeting with President Obama, culminating in a science fair/poster session displaying their work at the gala, and the ultimate discovery of who among them would be one of the top ten winners slated to receive awards ranging from $20,000 to $100,000.
I've thought about these finalists and their work for the past few weeks. I was stunned (yes, I know I never met a hyperbole I didn't like), but stunned is the only word I can use—by the extraordinary depth and intellectual pursuit of these high school seniors. I won the local science fair in elementary school with a research project on the pathology of plants, and while younger, I still remember the thrill of winning.
But these kids, because that is what they still are—kids—developed a new treatment strategy for liver cancer (Selena Shi-Yao Li, Mira Loma High School, CA); discovered a completely new species (Bonnie Rae Lei, Walnut High School, CA); studied the impact of exposure to particulate matter, demonstrating that agricultural workers in the Central Valley are indeed significantly impacted, especially during the winter months (Krystle M. Leung Naperville Central High School, IL); found a link between the food additive carrageenan and cancer (Prithwis Kumar Mukhopadhyay, Woodbury High School, MN); and invented a ternary Toffoli gate to improve the efficiency of quantum computing algorithms—essentially, faster and more efficient computers (Yushi Wang, Sunset High School Oregon).
My table mate was Matthew Miller, Western Alamance High School in NC who actually altered the aerodynamics of wind turbine blades, starting first in his family's garage, expanding to a university wind tunnel. Matthew won 3rd place and $50,000 for his remarkable work. Our other table mates erupted in excitement when Matthew was named, including Betty Shanahan, CEO of the Society of Women Engineers, Thomas Servello, Director of the Hispanic Association on Corporate Responsibility, and Pia Wilson-Body, Intel Senior Manager Global Diversity and Inclusion.
I was heartened by the scholarship, inquisitiveness and rigor of these students. 16 of the 40 were young women. Science and technology permeated their elegant, game changing solutions. I felt a sense of limitless possibility, a pride in what makes us who we are. Science on the cusp of discovery.
If my future is in the hands of these young people, I salute each one and gladly turn the reins over to them. Thank you, Intel.
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