Event: The regional finals of the 2008 Siemens Competition in Math, Science and Technology, America’s premier science research competition, comes to The University of Texas at Austin. High school students will compete for a $3,000 prize for one individual, $6,000 for one team, and an invitation to the national finals in New York City for a shot at the $100,000 grand prize.
When: 5-6:30 p.m., Friday, Nov. 14 (public viewing of student projects); 9 a.m.-3:30 p.m., Saturday, Nov. 15 (students present to judges)
Where: San Jacinto Hall, 309 E. 21st Street. (Accredited media may park at loading zones on 21st Street or at spaces along Jester Circle behind San Jacinto Hall. Please display media ID in vehicle window.)
Background: Seventeen science stars unveil research projects to a distinguished panel of university judges. Past Siemens Competition winners and program alumni have addressed some of the world’s most pressing problems through math and science: researched cures for drug-resistant tuberculosis, worked with zebra-fish spines for an inside look at bone growth, reinvented string theory and developed a device to generate energy from ocean waves.
The 2008 Siemens Competition regional finalists are:
Individual Finalists:
- Anika R. Petach, Fairview High School, Boulder, Colorado
- Amanda J. Lu, Plano West Senior High School, Plano, Texas
- Nilesh Tripuraneni, Clovis West High School, Fresno, California
- Wen Chyan, Texas Academy of Mathematics and Science, Denton, Texas
- Nayana Ghosh-Choudhury, Northside Health Careers High School, San Antonio, Texas
Team Finalists:
- Qingliu Yang, Elisa B. Lin, Plano West Senior High School, Plano, Texas and Hui Miao, The SMIC Private School, Shanghai, China
- Jacob S. Schaffert, Jess Schwartz College Prep, Phoenix, Arizona and Hayley M. Browdy, Deerfield Beach High School, Deerfield Beach, Florida
- Jeffrey D. Chan, William P. Clements High School, Sugar Land, Texas, Alicia Q. Zhang, Liberal Arts and Science Academy, Austin, Texas, and Sameer K. Deshpande, Texas Academy of Mathematics and Science, Denton, Texas
- Erika A. DeBenedictis, Albuquerque Academy, Albuquerque, New Mexico and Duanni Huang, La Cueva High School, Albuquerque, New Mexico
- Yi Zhang and Joshua Y. Chang, Bellaire High School, Bellaire, Texas
