Siemens Competition
The Siemens Competition is a science competition funded by the Siemens Foundation and administered by the College Board.
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[edit] Eligibility requirements
The Siemens Competition is open to high school students who are citizens or permanent residents of the US. Students must be in good standing and attend a 1) high school in the US, Puerto Rico, Guam, US Virgin Islands, American Samoa, Wake and Midway Islands, or the Marianas, or 2) DoDEA school, or overseas American or International school, or 3) Foreign school as an exchange student or because your parent or guardian lives and works abroad, or 4) Homeschool/HBI. Students submitting an individual project must be enrolled in, and attending their last year of high school. Team projects may have two or three members and must be enrolled in and attending high school (9th through 12th grade).
[edit] History
After Siemens AG purchased Westinghouse Electric Corporation's power generation unit in 1997, it was under the impression that the prestigious Westinghouse Science Talent Search (now the Intel Science Talent Search) would be theirs as well. When they discovered this was not the case and they ultimately lost the bidding to Intel, Siemens decided to create the Siemens Foundation to continue the tradition using the well-known Westinghouse name, calling the new competition the Siemens Westinghouse Competition (SWC) and, later, the Siemens Competition.
The competition retains many of the features of the old STS competition, including a $100,000 scholarship for the top research project. However, it has a number of added dimensions, most notably the team portion and the regional finals level. The regional finals are held in cooperation with six partner universities: MIT, Georgia Tech, Caltech, University of Texas at Austin, the University of Notre Dame, and Carnegie Mellon.[1]
2007 was the first year that girls won the top prizes in both the individual and team competitions at Siemens. The individual winner was Isha Jain of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, and the top team winners were Janelle Schlossberger and Amanda Marinoff of Plainview, New York. [2]
[edit] Selection process
Each year, research reports submitted before an early-October deadline are subjected to a blind reading. Three hundred outstanding research reports, from more than 1600 entries, are selected. All semifinalists receive a special recognition package, with their names announced in a full page USA Today advertisement. In addition, from the pool of outstanding research reports, 30 individuals and 30 teams (2-3 students) are selected from across the nation to compete for college scholarships at one of six regional partner universities (GA Tech, Caltech, Notre Dame, UT Austin, Carnegie Mellon and MIT).
[edit] Regional finals
Regional finalists compete during the month of November at the partner university affiliated with their region. In addition to project content, judging will also be based on the oral presentation, poster display, cited references, and the question and answer session. All regional finalists receive $1,000 and bronze medals. Regional winners receive $3,000 (individual) or $6,000 (total for teams), and silver medals.
[edit] National finals
Regional winners receive an all-expense paid trip during the first weekend of December.Students will compete against other regional winners, a total of 6 individual and 6 team projects. Winners of the Nationals receive scholarships ranging from $10,000 to the coveted $100,000 grand prize.
[edit] Siemens Scholar Network
Semifinalists, Regional Finalists, and National Finalists of the competition are invited to join the Siemens Scholar Network. The social networking site provides a means for Siemens Scholars to maintain contact with each other, as well as providing news, events, and networking opportunities.
[edit] Siemens Foundation
Funding for the Competition is provided by the Siemens Foundation, the non-profit wing of Siemens AG. Established in 1998, the Iselin, New Jersey based Siemens Foundation provides nearly $7 million in scholarships and awards annually. Its signature programs are the Siemens Competition, the Siemens Awards for Advanced Placement, and the newest program, The Siemens We Can Change the World Challenge. The Foundation’s mission is based on the culture of innovation, research and educational support that is the hallmark of Siemens’ U.S. operating companies and its parent company, Siemens AG.
[edit] References
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