Intel Science Talent SearchA program of Society for Science & the Public
To inspire the next generation of innovators, the Intel Science Talent Search (Intel STS), a program of Society for Science and the Public, challenges young scientists and mathematicians to follow their hearts, sharpen their minds, and conduct professional-grade research before they have even graduated from high school. Many who have reached the ranks of Intel STS finalist have gone on to pursue careers in science and math, and a large number have won these fields' most prestigious honors. Six former STS finalists have gone on to win the Nobel Prize. Others have been awarded the Fields Medal, the National Medal of Science, and MacArthur Foundation Fellowships.
As Intel celebrates a decade of sponsoring the competition, we invite you to take a look at three of the winners from 1999 and see how they have become leaders in the current generation of innovators.
| Erika Ebbel | Concerned about cell vitality, Erika Ebbel investigated antiviral properties of herbs - specifically, the Mongolian dandelion and its effect on HSV-1. |
| David Moore | David Moore developed a research project probing the electrical properties of a molecule which held promise as a diode for smaller, faster, lower-powered computer circuits. |
| Alexander Wissner-Gross | Alexander Wissner-Gross' research on the fluid properties of buckminster-fullerene molecules was the basis for two U.S. patents. |
Erika Ebbel
When Erika Ebbel was 11 years old, she visited a crocodile farm. There, she learned that a critically-wounded crocodile "commits suicide" by turning over onto its back and lapsing into a coma. Ebbel wondered whether cells might behave similarly - that is, whether a cell infected with a deadly virus might commit suicide in order to prevent other cells from being infected.
After an exhaustive search to find a mentor willing to take on such a young mentee, Ebbel tested her "cell suicide" hypothesis at a public health lab where she experimented with the lab's "least dangerous virus," Herpes simplex type-1 (HSV-1).
Over the next six years, Ebbel investigated the antiviral properties of herbs - specifically, the Mongolian dandelion and its effect on HSV-1. By the end of high school, she had tentatively identified three novel anti-viral compounds, a discovery which held the possibility of an alternative treatment for the disease. This research earned Ebbel several awards, including a place as a top-40 finalist at the 1999 Intel STS competition and a $3,000 scholarship.
Ebbel says the highlight of her Intel STS experience was the opportunity to form relationships with her peers: "The Intel STS experience helped me meet other students who were passionate about science. It also helped to reinforce my dreams of pursuing a career in science and medicine."
After the competition, Ebbel continued to work on her Intel STS research at MIT, presenting her findings at the 1999 MIT Biology Undergraduate Research Symposium and at the 48th American Society for Mass Spectrometry Conference.
Ebbel earned her B.S. in Chemistry from MIT in 2004, and is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in Analytical Biochemistry at Boston University Medical School. She is also a contributing editor for Wellness Options, a health/science magazine.
In 2002, Ebbel founded WhizKids Foundation, Inc., an organization promoting youth interest in science and mathematics, and championed this cause in 2004 as Miss Massachusetts in the Miss America Scholarship Program.
David Moore
As a high school student, David Moore was inspired by a mentor who believed that young minds were perfectly capable of taking on the difficult problems in nanocomputing. As a result, Moore delved into the study of the physics of molecular electronics and developed a research project probing the electrical properties of a molecule which held promise as a diode for smaller, faster, lower-powered computer circuits. The project landed him a spot as a finalist in the 1999 Intel STS competition.
Moore says he was honored simply to be among such a talented group of peers and absolutely "blown away" when he won second place and a $40,000 scholarship at the competition.
"My experience with Intel STS taught me to always keep my work relevant and interesting," says Moore, who adds that a competition highlight was interacting with the judges. "They had a lot of respect for creative thinking, and the questions they asked were engaging and thought-provoking. They were questions that did not require me to have a lot of prior knowledge, but rather demanded that I answer creatively and intuitively."
After Intel STS, Moore earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering at Caltech in 2003 and a Master of Science in the same field at MIT in 2005.
For the past two years, Moore has been a member of the MIT team working on the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) Urban Challenge, a robotics competition to encourage the development of vehicles capable of operating autonomously in urban environments. MIT won a respectable fourth place in the 2007 competition.
The DARPA experience forms the basis for Moore's doctoral research in the area of artificial perception of environments through the use of sensors.
Alexander Wissner-Gross
Alexander Wissner-Gross says he has always been interested in "making physical matter programmable and more like software." As a result, his 1999 Intel STS project combined physics, chemistry, computers, and engineering as he analyzed the fluid properties of buckminsterfullerene molecules. Specifically, his research demonstrated that, when vibrated, these molecules could be used to assemble nanostructures.
Potential application included the fabrication of nanoscale circuitry to improve computer performance. For this work, Wissner-Gross won tenth place and a $15,000 scholarship at the Intel STS competition.
The competition was a launching pad for the young scientist who used his Intel STS project research as the basis for two U.S. patents and the business plan for a company, Granular Ink, which won prizes in several notable entrepreneurial competitions
Another highlight of the Intel STS, says Wissner-Gross, was meeting Dudley Herschbach, 1986 Nobel Prize Winner in Chemistry, who eventually served on Wissner-Gross's doctoral thesis committee.
"Winning the Intel STS gave me the confidence to aggressively pursue a career in science and technology," says Wissner-Gross, who has since earned Bachelors degrees in Physics, Electrical Engineering, and Mathematics from MIT in 2003, and Masters and Ph.D. degrees in Physics from Harvard in 2004 and 2007, respectively.
Additionally, Wissner-Gross has authored 14 publications, been issued seven full and pending patents, founded four companies, and received numerous awards, including first place in the 2002 Intel Undergraduate Research Award competition.
Currently, Wissner-Gross reports that he is working as the chief technology officer of Maxtility Labs, a company he co-founded and describes as "a start-up incubator whose modest goal is to make the entire world programmable."