• <More on Intel.com
Masthead Light

Intel Science
Talent Search

2013 Winners

From more than 1,700 applicants in Intel Science Talent Search 2013, 40 high school seniors were selected as finalists and invited to Washington, D.C., to present original research to esteemed judges and showcase their work. On March 12, Intel announced the top ten winners of the 2013 Intel STS at a black-tie gala at the National Building Museum.

sts winners grand prize

First Place

Sara Volz, 17, of Colorado Springs, Colo., won the top award of $100,000 from the Intel Foundation for her research of algae biofuels. Algae produces oil that can be converted into a sustainable, renewable fuel; however, the fuel can be costly. Sara used artificial selection to establish populations of algae cells with high oil content, which are essential for an economically feasible biofuel. Sara, who built a home lab under her loft bed, sleeps on the same light cycle as her algae.

sts winners second place

Second Place

Second-place honors and $75,000 went to Jonah Kallenbach, 17, of Ambler, Pa., whose bioinformatics study breaks new ground in predicting protein binding for drug therapy. Jonah solved an open problem first posed several years ago, and his work suggests a new path to drug design by targeting a protein’s disordered regions. His research may open doors to treatment for diseases, such as breast cancer, ovarian cancer and tuberculosis.

sts winners third place

Third place

Third-place honors and $50,000 went to Adam Bowman, 17, of Brentwood, Tenn., who successfully designed and built a compact and inexpensive, low-energy, pulsed plasma device. Typical plasma sources are large, complicated and expensive. Using his inexpensive technology, Adam believes plasma research can now be conducted in small-scale operations and even high school labs.

sts winners fourth place

Fourth place

Hannah Larson of Eugene, Ore., received a $40,000 award for her research of an abstract mathematical structure that’s important in many areas of theoretical physics and computer science.

sts winners fifth place

Fifth place

Peter Kraft of Munster, Ind., received a $30,000 award for his synthesis of 10 new coordination polymers, which are massive molecules with complex network structures that have applications in gas purification and the storage of hydrogen in fuel cells.

sts winners sixth place

Sixth place

Kensen Shi of College Station, Texas, received a $25,000 award for his development of a computer algorithm that makes it easier for a robot to avoid colliding with obstacles in its path.

sts winners seventh place

Seventh place

Samuel Zbarsky of Rockville, Md., received a $25,000 award for his math research that could improve the efficiency of 3-D computer networks.

sts winners eighth place

Eighth place

Brittany Wenger of Sarasota, Fla., received a $20,000 award for her development of an artificial neural network to help diagnose breast cancer using data from fine needle biopsy samples.

sts winners ninth place

Ninth place

Akshay Padmanabha of Collierville, Tenn., received a $20,000 award for his development of an algorithm that detects oncoming epileptic seizures.

sts winners tenth place

Tenth place

Sahana Vasudevan of Palo Alto, Calif. received a $20,000 award for her math research that proved a new, generalized way to minimize an important function of arithmetic.

Intel Science Talent Search
Overview
Event Summary

Winners

Videos

View More Videos
  • Intel STS 2013: Algae Researcher Wins First Prize
    Intel STS 2013: Algae Researcher Wins First Prize

    Intel Science Talent Search 2013 First Place Winner Sara Volz shares her research on algae as a potential biofuel, as well as her experience at the competition.

  • Intel STS 2013: Clearing the Air
    Intel STS 2013: Clearing the Air

    Finalist Naomi Shah shares her research on the effect of airborne pollutants on lung health, and her creation of a low-cost biofilter to improve indoor air quality.

  • Intel STS 2013: Breathe Deeply
    Intel STS 2013: Breathe Deeply

    Finalist Jack Takahashi shares his research on pulmonary hypertension, which may lead to ways to prevent or reverse the disease.