Girls Dominate the Siemens Competition

For the first time in the prestigious national math and science contest's nine-year history, girls were awarded both grand prizes

by Catherine Arnst

Janelle Schlossberger and Amanda Harinoff, seniors at John F. Kennedy High School in Plainview, N.Y., won the team grand prize.

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In a first for the prestigious Siemens Competition in Math, Science & Technology for U.S. high school students, girls walked away with top honors in both the individual and team categories.

The individual grand prize of a $100,000 scholarship went to Isha Jain, a senior at Freedom High School in Bethlehem, Pa., for research into bone growth. Results of the nine-year-old competition were announced on Dec. 3. As winners of the team grand prize, Janelle Schlossberger and Amanda Marinoff, seniors at Plainview-Old Bethpage John F. Kennedy High School in Plainview, N.Y., will split a $100,000 scholarship awarded for their research on tuberculosis. (For a slide show of the 20 finalists, see "America's Smartest Students.")

Jain admits to being surprised by her win. "I came in here thinking I had no chance at all," she says. "The caliber of the projects is absolutely phenomenal." She and her fellow champs beat out 1,641 students and 1,361 projects, persevering through grueling local and regional competitions. In the final stage, over the first weekend in December, finalists made oral project presentations before an audience and judges at New York University in Manhattan. Sponsored by the Siemens Foundation, the contest was started in 1998 after Siemens (SI) lost its bid to take over the original Westinghouse Science Competition, which was first held in 1942 and is now known as the Intel Science Talent Search (INTC).

Closing the Gender Gap

Women lag far behind men in professional math, science, and computer fields, an issue that became the subject of renewed debate in 2005 when then Harvard President Lawrence Summers suggested the lack of top female scientists may stem in part from biological differences between men and women. Jain vehemently disagrees, but acknowledges with some annoyance that "the guy-to-girl ratio in math and science competitions is absolutely ridiculous. It's usually seven or eight guys to one girl." The results of this year's Siemens Competition may signify that more girls are "finally stepping up to the plate and are more than capable," Jain says. "And I'm proud to be a part of that."

Siemens Foundation President James Whaley says the percentage of girls entering the competition has increased each year; this year, 48% of the contestants were female. Eighty percent of this year's competitors were from public schools, and one team of finalists consisted of home-schooled girls. Many of the schools whose students were represented also have close ties to nearby universities or research labs. "There are very few [high] schools that have the resources or labs to support this high level of research," Whaley notes.

The competition is open to any U.S. student who is a citizen or has a green card, and a vast range of ethnicities and nationalities is represented. Those who make it to the finals have two things in common, says Caroline Lang, a member of the home-schooled team from Yardley, Pa. "They were all willing to keep going even after a setback, and they all are very good public speakers."

Interest in Science Began at Home

Poise and speaking ability were on full display as finalists gave oral presentations during the final round of competition. Few betrayed signs of nervousness as they stood on stage before judges and gave detailed descriptions of complex projects, which ranged from a study of ocean movement to a search for the cause of Lou Gehrig's disease. The latter was presented by Alicia Darnell, a senior from Pelham, N.Y., who took second prize in the individual competition and was awarded a $50,000 scholarship. She is the daughter of two scientists, Robert and Jennifer Darnell, both researchers at Rockefeller Institute in Manhattan.