MAYOR MICHAEL R. BLOOMBERG HOSTS NEW YORK CITY
INTEL SCIENCE TALENT SEARCH SEMIFINALISTS

New York City Leads Cities Nationwide with 59 Semifinalists

Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg today hosted the New York City seniors named as semifinalists in the Intel Science Talent Search (STS).  New York City led cities nationwide with 59 semifinalists, representing 11 public high schools and 6 private high schools.  50 of the 59 students attend public high schools in New York City.  Stuyvesant High School led the nation with 19 semifinalists.  The Mayor presented certificates of outstanding achievement to the talented students for their accomplishment in the Blue Room at City Hall. 

“Today, I am very proud to recognize the outstanding achievement of these very intelligent and gifted young New Yorkers,” Mayor Bloomberg said.  “These young men and women represent the finest New York City has to offer and have set the standard for excellence in math and science for students nationwide.  I wish each and every one of them continued success in their promising lives and the best of luck in this year’s competition.”

“Improving science and math education is critical to sustaining America's strength in the global marketplace,” Intel CEO Craig Barrett said.  “Intel would like to thank Mayor Bloomberg for recognizing the achievements of these remarkable students and their schools. Their solid grounding in science and math will help provide tomorrow's most innovative ideas and products.”

300 U.S. high school seniors reached the semifinals of the Intel STS last week.  This year’s semifinalists were selected from 1,581 applicants from around the country ranging in age from 15 to 19 years.  Of the 300 semifinalists, 59 students hail from New York City.  50 of the 59 semifinalists attend the following public high schools: Benjamin N. Cardozo High School (1), Bronx High School of Science (10), Brooklyn Technical School (5), Edward R. Murrow High School (2), Francis Lewis High School (2), Hunter College High School (2), Midwood High School at Brooklyn College (4), Newton High School (1), Staten Island Technical High School (1), Stuyvesant High School (19), and Townsend Harris High School (3).  9 of the semifinalists attend the following private high schools: Columbia Grammar & Preparatory School (1), Fieldston School (1), Horace Mann School (2), Ramaz School (1), St. Francis Preparatory School (3), and Yeshiva of Flatbush Joel Braverman High School (1).

From the 300 semifinalists, 40 finalists will be announced on January 29, 2003.  These students will take an all-expense-paid trip to Washington, D.C., to attend the Science Talent Institute, where they will participate in final judging and compete for college scholarships totaling more than $500,000.  The winners will be announced on March 11, 2003.

Participation in the Intel STS has often served as a precursor to impressive accomplishments in the field of science.  Over the last six decades, STS finalists have gone on to hold more than 100 of the world's most coveted science and math honors, including five Nobel Prizes, three National Medals of Science, 10 MacArthur Foundation Fellowships, and two Fields Medals. Many alumni have been elected to the National Academy of Sciences or the National Academy of Engineering.

Science Service, a non-profit organization whose mission is to advance the understanding and appreciation of science among people of all ages through publications and educational programs, has administered the program since its inception in 1942. Over the years, the competition has recognized more than 2,000 finalists and awarded more than $5 million in scholarships.  For more information on Science Service, visit www.sciserv.org. 

Intel’s sponsorship of the Science Talent Search is part of the Intel Innovation in Education initiative, a collaboration with educators in communities around the world to improve the quality of math, science, and engineering education by providing commitments of time, programs, and resources to help students realize their full potential. For more information, visit www.intel.com/education. 

The following students were selected as Intel STS semifinalists:

NEW YORK CITY PUBLIC SCHOOLS
Benjamin N. Cardozo High School
Choy, Jennifer Tze-Henc

Bronx High School of Science
Abbo, Leon Jacobo
Dang, Ying Yi
Kashlev, Dmitry
Leung, Min Wah
Liu, Debra Yvonne
Montan, Omar Tomas
Ramesh, Jay
Sin, Emmanuel Joseph
Singh, Mita
Zhang, Yi-Chen

Brooklyn Technical High School
Gekker, Anna
Pinchoff, Jessie Zucker
Santoro, Linda Marie
Vaz, Amiya Rebecca
Vinogradov, Ilya

Edward R. Murrow High School
Alkayeva, Svetlana
Shenderov, Kevin
Francis Lewis High School
Shen, Alice ShihYuan
Yang, Sun Ling

Hunter College High School
Chen, Jason
Yau, Emily

Midwood High School at Brooklyn College
Fischer, Rachel Ann
Marshack, Joshua Leon
Rood, Sacha Volosov
Stuckhardt, Leigh Ayla

Newtown High School
Hu, Qichao

Staten Island Technical High School
Gutierrez, Hialy Riviera

Stuyvesant High School
Chechkin, Aleksander
Chen, Alice Zao
Cross, Samuel Robert
Ellis, Alexander
Goldmints-Orlov, Arcady
Hui, John
Kuo, Kevin Chester
Lai, Kevin
Laitman, Andrew Marc
Lee, John
Levin, Alex
Lewis, Joel Brewster
Luan, Betty Manling
Narendra, Varun Kumar
Schwartz, Jonathan Ross
Shaw, Michael
Silla, Samba
Till, Jacob Edward
Wang, Pei

Townsend Harris High School
Hetherington, Jessica A.
Kalasapudi, Bharati Devi
Kamler, Jonathan Jacques

NEW YORK CITY PRIVATE SCHOOLS
Columbia Grammar & Preparatory School
Soghoian, Damien Zadour

Fieldston School
Kief, Jonathan

Horace Mann School
Friedman, Jared Daniel
Katz, David Lipa

Ramaz School
Levine, Joshua Adam

St. Francis Preparatory School
Laszkowska, Monika
Morgan, Christina Joy
Wang, Erwin Christian

Yeshivah of Flatbush Joel Braverman High School
Hersh, David Seth