Team Oregon came home with 15 Grand Awards and 11 Special Awards and scholarships, accumulating $237,000 total, from the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair held May 10-15 in Reno, Nevada.

Society for Science and the Public, the organizer of Intel ISEF, estimates that 30% of projects win grand awards. Team Oregon came home with a success rate of 58% in grand awards. Every regional fair that sent students to Intel ISEF as members of Team Oregon was represented among the winners of awards this year.

South Eugene High School senior Eric Larson, 17, won the coveted Seaborg SIYSS Award, an all expense-paid trip awarded to two senior finalists to attend the Stockholm International Youth Science Seminar during the Nobel Prize Ceremonies in December. The SIYSS is a multi-disciplinary seminar highlighting some of the most remarkable achievements by young scientists from around the world. The students have the opportunity to visit scientific institutes, attend the Nobel lectures and press conferences, learn more about Sweden and experience the extravagance of the Nobel festivities.

Larson also won "Best in Category" for his project in mathematics titled "The Classification of Certain Fusion Categories." Intel will present Best of Category Winners with a $5,000 award and a new laptop powered by an Intel® Core(TM)2 Duo processor. Additionally, a $1,000 grant will be given to their school and the Intel ISEF Affiliated Fair they represent.

Kevin Ellis, 17, a Catlin Gabel School student from Vancouver, Washington, also won "Best in Category" for his project "System S: Describing State in Functional Languages" in Computer Science. Intel ISEF finalists winning a "Best in Category" are provided an opportunity to travel to tour CERN, the European Organization for Nuclear Research, the world's leading laboratory for particle physics in Geneva, Switzerland.

Both Larson and Ellis also won a First Prize, for $3000, in their respective categories.

In addition, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Lincoln Laboratory has partnered with Society for Science and the Public to promote science education through a program called the Ceres Connection. This program seeks to name minor planets after students through Society for Science competitions, including the Intel ISEF. First and second place category award winner names will be sent to the International Astronomical Union (IAU) for naming rights of a near earth asteroid.

"I am so proud of all our Oregon students," says Intel Northwest Science Expo Fair Director Stephanie Jones. "They are top competitors and represent our state well."

A total of 1563 high school students from 56 countries participated in the event. Intel presents Grand Awards to the top winners in each of Intel ISEF's seventeen categories of scientific research. Special Awards are given by government organizations, professional societies, and colleges and universities. Teachers, parents, and college and university faculty all play a role in preparing students for this event.

"Our  generous sponsors enable students statewide to participate in science fair activities," says Dr. Linda Mantel, Executive Director of NWSES. "We could  not provide these opportunities without the support of Intel, Applied Materials, Vernier Software and Technology, Genentech, and the Oregon University System."

The Northwest Science Expo System (NWSES) encompasses the seven regional fairs (expos) and the Intel Northwest Science Expo (NWSE), which are all affiliated with the Intel ISEF. Each expo sends its Best of Fair high school students directly to Intel ISEF, and its top third qualify for the Intel NWSE, the state-level science expo. The mission of the NWSES is to develop scientific talent and promote science literacy in Oregon and Clark County Washington students by providing a structure and a venue for presenting high quality student research.

Other Oregon Grand Award Winners are:
First: $3,000
Physics and Astronomy
A Quantum Algorithm for Molecular Dynamics Simulation
Yale Wang Fan, 17, The Catlin Gabel School, Portland, Oregon

First award for Team project:
Energy and Transportation
Novel Water Lens for Cost-Effective Electricity Generation
Siheng S. You, 17, and Ashutosh Patra, 17, Sunset High School,
Portland, Oregon

Second: $1,500
Environmental Management
Use of Chlorella pyrenoidosa Microalgae Supplements as a Chelant for Heavy Metal Filtration
Vivian Connie Tsang, 17, Sunset High School, Portland, Oregon

Retention of Sorbed Hydrophobic Pollutant by Organoclay in the Presence of Hydrocarbon-Degrading Bacterial Isolates
Laurie Ann Rumker, 16, Oregon Episcopal School, Portland, Oregon

Second award for Team project:
Earth and Planetary Sciences
Field and Statistical Analysis of Landslide Propensity: Using Study Sites from Oregon City, Oregon
Evan George Marshall, 16, and Sandeep Mallidi, 17, Westview High School, Portland, Oregon

Environmental Management
Turning the Ocean Upside Down: A Study in Trends of Coastal Upwelling Along the Pacific Coast
Harish Srikar Vemuri, 17, Maanas Tripathi, 17, and Peter Chal
Landgren, 18, Westview High School, Portland, Oregon

Third: $1,000
Behavioral and Social Science
Efficacy of Peer-Delivered Sleep Hygiene Education on Sleep Hygiene Practices, Sleep Quality, and Mood in Evening-Type Adolescents
Elliot E.A. Prince, 15, Wilsonville High School, Wilsonville, Oregon

A Comparison of the Effects of Native Language on the Learning Style of Native Chinese and Native English Speakers
Ling Chou, 17, Oregon Episcopal School, Portland, Oregon

Engineering: Materials and Bioengineering
Integration of CdS-sensitized Nanobelts on a ZnO Nanowire Array in Solar Cells
Maryann Chenting Tung, 17, Saint Mary's Academy, Portland, Oregon

Third award for Team project:
Plant Sciences
Inoculation of Rubus armeniacus Cultures in vitro, Year Two
Haley Kae Epperly, 16, and Ann Christine Bernert, 16, West Linn High School, West Linn, Oregon

Fourth: $500
Environmental Management
The Effects of Prescribed Burning on Environmental Mercury Release during Subsequent Forest Fires
Julia Marie Denning, 17, Gold Beach High School, Gold Beach, Oregon

Special Awards:
Air Force Research Laboratory, First Award of $3,000
A Quantum Algorithm for Molecular Dynamics Simulation
Yale Wang Fan, 17, The Catlin Gabel School, Portland, Oregon

United States Coast Guard, Third Award of $1,000
Developing a Remotely Operated Underwater Device for Rapid Deployment in Flooded Scenarios to Gather Information for S&R
Avilash Kalpathy Cramer, 16, West Linn High School, West Linn, Oregon

American Geological Institute, First Award of $1,000
Archeological Palynology of the Willamette Valley
Ian James Love, 16, and Ashley Rachelle Wiens, 18, West Salem High School, Salem, Oregon

American Mathematical Society Karl Menger Award of Excellence, Second Award of $500
A Quantum Algorithm for Molecular Dynamics Simulation
Yale Wang Fan, 17, The Catlin Gabel School, Portland, Oregon

American Psychological Association, Third Award of $500
Efficacy of Peer-Delivered Sleep Hygiene Education on Sleep Hygiene Practices, Sleep Quality, and Mood in Evening-Type Adolescents
Elliot E.A. Prince, 15, Wilsonville High School, Wilsonville, Oregon

IIT Institute of Psychology, Renewable Scholarship of $15,000 per year for up to four years
A Comparison of the Effects of Native Language on the Learning Style of Native Chinese and Native English Speakers
Ling Chou, 17, Oregon Episcopal School, Portland, Oregon

International Council on Systems Engineering, Honorable Mention
Developing a Remotely Operated Underwater Device for Rapid Deployment in Flooded Scenarios to Gather Information for S&R
Avilash Kalpathy Cramer, 16, West Linn High School, West Linn, Oregon

Oregon Institute of Technology, Award Scholarship of $5,000
Developing a Remotely Operated Underwater Device for Rapid Deployment in Flooded Scenarios to Gather Information for S&R
Avilash Kalpathy Cramer, 16, West Linn High School, West Linn, Oregon

What Characteristics Influence a Goshawk's Nesting Site?
Kieron Arn Callahan, 16, Grant Union High School, John Day, Oregon

Sierra Nevada College, Genius Scholarship (valued at $23,000 per year for 4 years)
The Effects of Prescribed Burning on Environmental Mercury Release during Subsequent Forest Fires
Julia Marie Denning, 17, Gold Beach High School, Gold Beach, Oregon

United Technologies Corporation, UTC Common Stock, a plaque, a digital camera, backpack and the United Technologies Corporation Annual Report
The Classification of Certain Fusion Categories
Eric Kerner Larson, 17, South Eugene High School, Eugene, Oregon