May 6, 2002

Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology, National Science Bowl® Champion

WASHINGTON, DC - “96 percent”was the short answer to a question on genetics that today clinched the 2002 National Science Bowl« championship for the Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology team from Alexandria, VA.

Under Secretary of Energy Robert Card presented the school’s team the national championship trophy after the team triumphed over 63 other regional team champions this weekend. The members of the Thomas Jefferson High School team are: Kay Aull, Jeffrey Cohen, Gregory Price, Gary Sivek, Steven Sivek and coach Sharon Baker. The team also won a two-week trip to England to attend the International Youth Science Forum.

Secretary of Energy Spencer Abraham congratulated the winners and praised the more than 300 students who competed this weekend. “I believe in encouraging talented, scientific minds to develop their skills with the goal of one day leading our Nation’s research activities,” Secretary Abraham said. “I know you will add to the future success of our scientific endeavors and will enhance our country’s ability to maintain a position of leadership in math and science.”

Twelve thousand students at 1,800 schools participated in 64 regional Science Bowl« competitions this year. The Department of Energy created the National Science Bowl« in 1991 to encourage high school students to excel in math and science and to pursue careers in these fields. The department supports math and science education to help provide a technically trained and diverse workforce for the agency and the nation. This year’s competition is sponsored by Bechtel, IBM and Texas Instruments.

Placing second in the National Science Bowl« was Boulder High School of Boulder, CO. The team members are: Jonathan Beall, David Kamin, Stephan Vandermersch, Yiming Wang, Gwen Woods and coach Scott Partridge.

The third place team was Mission San Jose High School of Fremont, CA. The team members are: Timothy Cheng, Kai Dai, Elena Fabrikant, Katherine Ng, Benjamin Tseng and coach Patricia Moseley. .

The Sycamore High School of Cincinnati, OH placed fourth. The team members are:Danny Ash, Karthik Balasubramanian, Daniel Cheng, Fima Macheret, Lee Raskin and coach Cindy Parrott.

Placing fifth was Hanford High School of Richland, WA. The team members are: Loni Dagan, Andy Ferguson, Kyle Littlefield, Susruta Maiti, Greg Staeheli and coach Brian Palmer.

The other teams in the top 18 were:
A&M Consolidated High School College Station TX
Cedar Falls High School, Cedar Falls, IA
Cookeville High School, Cookeville TN
East Brunswick High School, East Brunswick, NJ
New Trier High School Winnetka, IL
North Hollywood High School, North Hollywood CA
Pembroke Hill School, Kansas City, MO
Richard Montgomery High School, Rockville, MD
Santa Monica High School, Santa Monica, CA
Saratoga Springs High School, Saratoga Springs, NY
Smoky Hill High School, Aurora, CO
Stockdale High School, Bakersfield, CA
Taylor Allderdice High School, Pittsburgh, PA

The second, third and fourth place teams will attend a one-week research trip at an Energy Department facility. The top 18 teams will receive $1,000 for their school’s science department. More information about the Science Bowl is available at www.scied.science.doe.gov.



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