talk 615

It was an overcastted Sunday afternoon but no rain. With much time on hand, I went to a free concert today at the Academy of Sciences near the Lincoln Memorial. Every year, the Academy sponsors five to six classical concerts in a relatively small but acoustically refined auditorium. The artists who perform in this concert are professional musicians, sometimes quite well known. Needless to say, I very much enjoy the concert. DC has a very rich cultural life. Many events are actually free. a fact that is not well known even to long time residence.

However, it is not the concert that I am writing about. When I entered the Academy, I discovered that there was a science exhibit taking place in the Great Hall of the building. The poster announced that the event was the Intel Science Talent Search Exhibit. Perhaps you are not familiar with the Intel STS. In fact, the name made no impression on me until a bit later. However, you might be familiar with the Westinghouse Science Fair. That was the original name of this event when it started in 1942, according to my brochure. It was quite well known in this part of the country. After the demise of Westinghouse, Intel took over the sponsorship since the 90's and the event is now known as the Intel STS.

So what? Ah, be patient. This event selects forty of the best high school senior science and mathematics projects and brings them to DC for one week of festivity. A panel of judges selects one winner of the event and a few runner-ups. The top prize this year is $100,000 toward his or her college education. $75,000 for the second prize. $50,000 for the third. There are also three $20,000 awards.

Perhaps you know all these facts already. However, here is what I learned today that surprised me much. According to the brochure, since the inception of this event in 1942, the participants in this event have won three National Medals of Science, ten MacArthur Foundation Fellowships, two Fields Medals, and six Nobel Prizes. The most recent alumnus of STS that won one of these prestigious awards is Frank Wilczek, who won the Nobel Prize for physics this year. As you know these are the top prizes in science and mathematics. There is no 'topper'.

From the brochure, here is a list of the relevant and irrelevant observations.

• There are sixteen orientals out of the forty paricipants including five Indians.
• There are nine from the State of New York, five from Maryland, four from California, and four from Illinois
• Of the four participants from Illinois, three go to Illinois Mathematics & Science Academy in Aurora, IL.
• Of the five participants from Maryland, four go to Montgomery Blair High School in Silver Spring, MD.

Maybe where one lives and what high school one attends does affect one's future.