Boston Latin School student named one of the best young scientists in the world

BOSTON - Boston Latin School student Olivia Schwob received the prestigious “Young Scientist” award and a $50,000 scholarship at the Intel International Science & Engineering Fair (ISEF), held recently in Reno, Nevada. She was one of three top prize winners at the fair, which drew 1,563 high school competitors from around the world.

The judges selected the three students for the “Young Scientist” award from among the best projects in 19 judging categories. Olivia’s project, How Worms Learn III: Mammalian Gene Expression and Associative Conditioning, earned her a first prize and was named “Best in Category” in the Behavioral Science division. Fellow Boston Latin Student Anartya Mandal also earned a first prize and a “Best in Category” award in the Biochemistry division for his project, Curcumin Induces Apoptosis in Cancer Cells by Inhibiting NF-k.

“We are thrilled that not one but two Boston Public Schools students have earned international recognition for their work in the sciences,” said Superintendent Carol R. Johnson. “This is an outstanding achievement for the students as well as for their teachers, families and the district. Our students are doing increasingly sophisticated scientific research projects, many of which have real-world applications, and we look forward to seeing more Boston students competing at this level in the future.”

Olivia, a junior from West Roxbury, and Anartya, a senior from Brighton, will each receive $5,000, a trip to the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) in Geneva, and a laptop computer for their “Best in Category” awards as well as an additional $3,000 first prize award. Olivia also took home the PSI CHI National Honor Society in Psychology First Place Award of $1,000, while Anartya earned the National Taiwan Science Education Center Special Award, which includes a trip to the Taiwanese International Science Fair in 2010.

“The real end point of the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair is to elevate the recognition of achievement of the younger generation in academic and learning exercises,” said Intel Chairman Craig Barrett. “I hope that more young people will look at these students and realize they can be recognized for using their brains. You don’t have to be a quarterback, a basketball player or a baseball player to be recognized by your peers and the public.”

Two other Boston Public Schools students also competed at the ISEF. Moriah Smith of Dorchester, a senior at Boston Latin Academy, and Yunwei Sun, of West Roxbury, a junior at Boston Latin School, presented their team project, Characterizing the Melanoma Stem/Initiating Cell “Niche.”

All four students had previously earned prizes at the Massachusetts State Science & Engineering Fair (MSSEF), held earlier this month at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. At that competition, Anartya Mandal had the highest score out of more than 300 projects, earning him the Genzyme Award, which includes a paid summer internship at Genzyme, as well as a cash award for himself, his teacher and his school. Sixteen BPS students earned awards ranging from first place to honorable mention at the MSSEF, with many winning scholarship money and internship opportunities. (View BPS Winners)

The Intel International Science and Engineering Fair (Intel ISEF)—the world’s largest pre-college science competition—provides an opportunity for the best young scientists from around the globe to share ideas, showcase cutting-edge science projects, and compete for over $4 million in awards and scholarships. For more information, visit www.societyforscience.org.

The Massachusetts State Science & Engineering Fair's mission is to increase the awareness of, exposure to, and participation in inquiry-based learning through the development of science and engineering projects by middle school and high school students, and to showcase and celebrate that learning. For information, visit www.massscifair.org.