TARRYTOWN, N.Y. and WASHINGTON, July 29, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Regeneron
Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: REGN) and Society for
Science & the Public announced that Lillian Petersen, 17, of Los Alamos, New Mexico won the
$250,000 top award in the
Regeneron Science Talent Search 2020, the nation's oldest and most
prestigious science and math competition for high school seniors.
For the first time in its 78-year history, the competition took
place virtually, in order to keep finalists and their families safe
during the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. Forty finalists, including
Lillian, were honored tonight during a virtual award ceremony. More
than $1.8 million was awarded to the
finalists, who were evaluated based on the scientific rigor of
their projects, their exceptional problem-solving abilities and
their potential to become scientific leaders.
First place winner Lillian Petersen invented a
simple tool for predicting harvests early in the growing season,
which helps to improve food distribution planning and offers a
promising resource to those working to address global food
insecurity. Lillian first validated her tool, which analyzes daily
satellite imagery using accepted measures of vegetation health, on
known domestic crop data. She then tested it for countries in
Africa and successfully predicted
harvests with high accuracy against reported yields.
Second place and $175,000
went to Jagdeep Bhatia, 18,
of Green Brook, New Jersey
for developing two fast and simple machine learning algorithms for
computer programs that are attempting to learn new concepts under
the tutelage of an instructor, either a computer or human. His
algorithms do not only ask random questions but, like a savvy
detective, ask just the right ones. His AI algorithms could help
train robots and other automated devices faster and easier.
Third place and $150,000
went to Brendan Crotty, 18,
of Muskogee, Oklahoma for
his project where he designed and built an efficient hybrid gas
burner that could help reduce the ecological impact of industries
like power generation and materials manufacturing. His specialized
burner system operates at higher temperatures than current
industrial burners yet emits 19 percent less polluting nitrogen
dioxide gas. To build his model, Brendan had to become proficient
in computer design software, metal casting and machining.
"Congratulations to the Regeneron Science Talent Search 2020
winners," said Maya Ajmera,
President and CEO of Society for Science & the Public,
Publisher of Science News and 1985 Science Talent Search
alumna. "Students like Lillian
Petersen are the stewards of our future. The current
pandemic has made it clear how important science is to our
wellbeing. With these finalists at the forefront of scientific and
engineering discovery, I know we are in good hands. They will be
solving the world's most intractable problems."
The Regeneron Science Talent Search provides a national stage
for the best and brightest young minds to present their original
research ideas to leading scientists. The competition celebrates
the hard work and creativity of students who are using research as
activism to spark conversation, effect change and lead many of
society's most pressing issues.
"I'm amazed by the tenacity of this year's Regeneron Science
Talent Search finalists, many of whom are seeking solutions to our
greatest global challenges, and who rolled with the punches while
competing during an unprecedented global pandemic," said
Leonard S. Schleifer, M.D., Ph.D.,
Co-Founder, President and Chief Executive Officer of Regeneron.
"Congratulations to the winners, and welcome to the community of
Science Talent Search alumni who have displayed remarkable
scientific curiosity and leveraged their experience to make a
difference in the sciences and beyond."
Other top honors from the competition include:
Fourth Place: Rupert Li of Portland, Oregon received a $100,000 award for his math theory project that
resolved an abstract algebra question concerning the "abelian
sandpile model" to explore the underlying algebraic structure of a
group. His creative approach to a specific type of mathematical
model defined on graphs suggests a new approach that other
mathematicians studying similar problems may find useful.
Fifth Place: Anaiah Thomas of Teaneck, New Jersey received a $90,000 award for her investigation on how the
natural killer (NK) immune cells, CD56bright and CD56dim, are
influenced by cancer cells – research that could one day lead to
new cancer therapies. CD56bright NK cells stop CD56dim NK cells
from attacking healthy tissue. When Anaiah cultured these NK cells
together with cancer-derived fibroblast cells that can stimulate
changes in their function, she found that NK cells can switch type
based on their microenvironment.
Sixth Place: Katherine St George of Merrick, New York received an $80,000 award for her study of the impact of diet
and caffeine on seizures using fruit flies. A high-fat,
low-carbohydrate ketogenic diet can lessen seizures caused by
imbalances in certain neurotransmitters, while caffeine can
increase them. Katherine fed her fruit flies different diets and
exposed them to caffeine. She observed that flies fed a ketogenic
diet were not as susceptible to caffeine-induced seizures, which
may inform diet counseling for human seizure patients.
Seventh Place: Alek Westover of Belmont, Massachusetts received a $70,000 award for his creation of a new parallel
partition algorithm that he demonstrated can improve the speed of
certain computations. He compared the performance of his algorithm
to four others previously developed, and his algorithm performed
better than each of them in at least one respect. Theoretical work
such as this can be used to improve many computer applications,
like those that facilitate database queries, by simultaneously
providing speed and robustness.
Eighth Place: Adriane Thompson of Westerville, Ohio received a $60,000 award for her project that identified new
regulatory pathways in corn plants that may help to determine
growth factors and predict yields for this vital crop. By noting
where levels of gene expression changed in the main pathway that
uses enzymes to turn off certain genes, she deduced which genes do
not need the enzyme to maintain repression, thus indicating that
they use novel pathways to regulate gene expression.
Ninth Place: Rohan Wagh of Portland, Oregon received a $50,000 award for his development of a
bacteria-powered sensor system that can send farmers up-to-date
measurements of soil moisture and nutrient conditions, which could
reduce the amount of irrigation water wasted. His design includes
microbial fuel cell modules as sensors and an algorithm he wrote to
interpret the data and generate a map of soil conditions. He
believes his system could improve water use and increase crop
yields for around $100 per acre.
Tenth Place: Arjun Neervannan of Irvine, California received a $40,000 award for his development of an AI
software designed to identify hateful or toxic content, often a
form of cyberbullying, online with less bias than current programs.
Algorithms with built-in biases that associate toxicity with
racial, gender and other such identity terms can result in
inappropriate censoring of productive discussions. Arjun believes
his scalable, automated debiasing process produces a more accurate
and fair AI model.
The remaining 30 finalists each received $25,000. These students will join the ranks of
other Science Talent Search alumni, many of whom have gone on to
have world-changing careers in STEM fields, and some of whom have
earned the most esteemed honors in science and math, including the
Nobel Prize, National Medal of Science and MacArthur Foundation
Fellowships. In total, Regeneron awarded $3.1 million in prizes through the Regeneron
Science Talent Search 2020, including $2,000 to each of the top scholars and their
schools.
About the Regeneron Science Talent Search
The Regeneron Science Talent Search, a program of Society for
Science & the Public since 1942, is the nation's oldest and
most prestigious science and math competition for high school
seniors. Each year, around 2,000 student entrants submit original
research in critically important scientific fields of study and are
judged by leading experts in their fields. Unique among high school
competitions in the U.S. and around the world, the Regeneron
Science Talent Search focuses on identifying, inspiring and
engaging the nation's most promising young scientists who are
creating the ideas that could solve society's most urgent
challenges.
In 2017, Regeneron became only the third sponsor of
the Science Talent Search (following Westinghouse and Intel) as a
way to help reward and celebrate the best and brightest young minds
and encourage them to pursue careers in STEM as a way to positively
impact the world. Through its 10-year, $100
million commitment, Regeneron nearly doubled the overall
award distribution to $3.1 million
annually, increasing the top award to $250,000 and doubling the awards for the top 300
scholars and their schools to $2,000
each to inspire more young people to engage in science.
Program alumni include recipients of the world's most coveted
science and math honors, including 11 National Medals of Science,
five Breakthrough Prizes, 21 MacArthur Foundation Fellowships, two
Fields Medals and 13 Nobel Prizes.
Learn more
at https://www.societyforscience.org/regeneron-sts/
About Society for Science & the Public
Society for
Science & the Public is dedicated to the achievement of young
scientists in independent research and to public engagement in
science. Established in 1921, the Society is a nonprofit whose
vision is to promote the understanding and appreciation of science
and the vital role it plays in human advancement. Through its
world-class competitions, including the Regeneron Science Talent
Search, the Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair,
the Broadcom MASTERS, and its award-winning
magazine, Science News and Science
News for Students, Society for Science & the Public is
committed to inform, educate, and inspire. Learn more
at www.societyforscience.org and follow us
on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Snapchat
(Society4Science).
About Regeneron
Regeneron (NASDAQ: REGN) is a leading
biotechnology company that invents life-transforming medicines for
people with serious diseases. Founded and led for over 30 years by
physician-scientists, our unique ability to repeatedly and
consistently translate science into medicine has led to seven
FDA-approved treatments and numerous product candidates in
development, all of which were homegrown in our laboratories. Our
medicines and pipeline are designed to help patients with eye
diseases, allergic and inflammatory diseases, cancer,
cardiovascular and metabolic diseases, pain, infectious diseases
and rare diseases.
Regeneron believes that operating as a good corporate citizen is
crucial to delivering on our mission. We approach corporate
responsibility with three goals in mind: to improve the lives of
people with serious diseases, to foster a culture of
integrity and excellence and to build sustainable
communities. Regeneron is proud to be included on the Dow Jones
Sustainability World Index and the Civic 50 list of the most
"community-minded" companies in the
United States. Regeneron empowers and supports employees to
give back through our volunteering, pro-bono and matching gift
programs. Our most significant philanthropic commitments are in the
area of science education, including the Regeneron Science
Talent Search and Regeneron International Science and
Engineering Fair.
For additional information about the company, please visit
www.regeneron.com or follow @Regeneron on Twitter.
Media Contacts
Ella
Campbell, Regeneron
914-572-4003,
ella.campbell@regeneron.com
Gayle Kansagor, Society for
Science & the Public
703-489-1131,
gkansagor@societyforscience.org
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