Siemens Competition

The Siemens Competition is a science competition funded by the Siemens Foundation, which was administered by the College Board from 1999-2013 and by Discovery Education starting in 2014.^[1]

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

• high school in a US state, Puerto Rico, Guam, US Virgin Islands, American Samoa, Wake and Midway Islands, or the Marianas, or
• DoDEA school, or overseas American or international school, or
• Foreign school as an exchange student or because your parent or guardian lives and works abroad, or
• 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).

History

Siemens AG purchased Westinghouse Electric Corporation's power generation unit in 1997, but sponsorship of the Westinghouse Science Talent Search (now the Intel Science Talent Search) was not part of the deal. When Siemens lost the bidding for the competition 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 first awards were given in 1999.^[2]

The competition has the same goals as the old Westinghouse Competition, but there are several added dimensions, most notably awards for team projects and regional awards. 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.^[3]

2007 was the first year that women 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.^[4]

Selection process

Each year, research reports submitted before a late-September to early-October deadline are subjected to a blind reading. 300 outstanding research reports, from more than 1600 entries, are selected as semifinalists. All semifinalists receive a special recognition package, with their names announced in a full page USA Today advertisement.^[5]

From the pool of semifinalists, 30 individuals and 30 teams (2-3 students) are selected as Regional Finalists and are invited to compete during the month of November at one of the six partner universities (Caltech, UT Austin, Notre Dame, Carnegie Mellon, MIT, and Ga. Tech). In addition to project content, judging is also be based on the oral presentation, poster display, cited references, and the question and answer session. All regional finalists receive $1,000 scholarships and bronze medals. One individual and one team from each region advances to the National Finals. These Regional winners receive $3,000 (individual) or $6,000 (total for teams) scholarships, and silver medals.

The National Finalists (6 individual and 6 team projects) receive an all-expense paid trip during the first weekend of December to Washington, DC. Winners of the Nationals receive scholarships ranging from $10,000 to the coveted $100,000 grand prize for the top individual and top team.^[6]

High schools with the most winners

Since the creation of the Siemens Competition in 1999, a few schools have been consistently successful in producing Regional and National Finalists. By far the most Finalists have come from North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics, and many Finalists have also come from Oak Ridge High School, Troy High School, and the Texas Academy of Mathematics and Science. These are the only four schools to have produced Regional Finalists in more than 10 of the first 15 years of the Siemens Competition.^{[7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16]}

Schools with the Most Regional and National Finalists (1999–2015)

School	City	State	Regional	National
North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics	Durham	NC	60	15
Texas Academy of Mathematics and Science	Denton	TX	43	5
Troy High School (California)	Fullerton	CA	37	5
Oak Ridge High School	Oak Ridge	TN	35	12
Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology	Alexandria	VA	31	4
Troy High School (Michigan)	Troy	MI	24	7
Carmel High School	Carmel	IN	18	3
Ward Melville High School	East Setauket	NY	17	4
Jericho High School	Jericho	NY	16	5
Lexington High School	Lexington	MA	16	5
The Harker School	San Jose	CA	16	4
Hathaway Brown School	Shaker Heights	OH	16	4
Stuyvesant High School	New York	NY	16	3
Illinois Math and Science Academy	Aurora	IL	14	0
Midwood High School	Brooklyn	NY	13	0
Montgomery Blair High School	Silver Spring	MD	12	3
Monta Vista High School	Cupertino	CA	11	1
William G. Enloe High School	Raleigh	NC	11	3

Regional Finalists by School Each Year (1999-2015)
School	1999	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007	2008	2009	2010	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015
NCSSM	0	3	5	10	8	10	1	5	2	2	5	1	2	0	3	1	2
Troy (Fullerton)	1	0	1	1	1	2	5	5	6	5	4	2	3	1	0	0	0
Oak Ridge	2	0	0	1	0	1	3	3	5	3	4	5	4	4	0	0	0
TAMS	0	3	1	0	1	0	2	2	4	2	4	5	5	2	2	7	3
Thomas Jefferson	0	0	0	1	1	0	0	0	1	2	2	2	4	4	6	3	5
Troy (MI)	0	3	0	0	0	0	1	1	1	0	2	2	3	0	5	6	0
Hathaway Brown	0	3	0	6	1	0	0	4	1	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0
Ward Melville	1	1	0	1	1	1	0	2	1	0	3	4	0	0	0	1	1
Jericho	0	0	0	0	3	1	5	3	1	2	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
Carmel	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	2	0	2	3	2	3	1	1	1	2
Stuyvesant	4	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	1	1	1	2	1	2	2	1	0
Lexington	0	0	1	0	1	0	1	1	0	0	2	0	2	4	2	2	0
Midwood	4	4	1	0	0	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	0	0	0
Montgomery Blair	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	2	1	1	3	2	0	1	0	1	0
Monta Vista	0	0	0	0	0	0	3	0	2	2	0	2	2	0	0	0	0
IMSA	0	0	0	0	1	1	3	0	0	5	0	1	0	0	0	2	2
William G. Enloe	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	4	3	0	0	2	0	0	0	0	1
Harker	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	1	2	4	2	4	2

National Finalists by School Each Year (1999-2015)
School	1999	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007	2008	2009	2010	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015
NCSSM	0	3	0	2	2	3	0	2	0	2	1	0	0	0	0	0	0
Oak Ridge	2	0	0	0	0	0	3	3	0	0	0	0	2	2	0	0	0
Troy (Fullerton)	0	0	0	0	1	0	2	0	0	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
TAMS	0	0	1	0	0	0	1	0	0	1	1	0	1	0	0	0	0
Troy (MI)	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	1	0	0	0	3	0	0	2	0
Lexington	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	2	2	0	0
Hathaway Brown	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Ward Melville	0	1	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	1	0	0	0	0	0
Jericho	0	0	0	0	3	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
Thomas Jefferson	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	1	1	0	0	0	0	1
Carmel	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	0	1	0	0	1
Stuyvesant	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	1	0	0	0	0
Montgomery Blair	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	0	1	0	0	0
William G. Enloe	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Harker	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	0	2
Monta Vista	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0
Midwood	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
IMSA	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

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.^[17]

References

1. "Siemens Competition". Discovery Education. Retrieved 10 December 2014.
2. "Science Fairs Pump Up the Rewards of Talent". Science. 6 December 1999.
3. "Siemens Foundation: Competition Process". Retrieved 2007-11-21.
4. http://www.voanews.com/learningenglish/home/a-23-2007-12-13-voa1-83133097.html
5. "Competition Process". Siemens Foundation. Retrieved 6 February 2014.
6. "Siemens Competition Scholarships". Siemens Foundation. Retrieved 6 February 2014.
7. "Siemens Competition Archives" (PDF). Siemens Foundation. 1999–2004. Retrieved 6 February 2014.
8. "2005 - 06 Siemens Westinghouse Competition - Regional Finalists". Internet Wayback Machine: Siemens Foundation. 2005. Archived from the original on November 23, 2005.
9. "2006-07 Siemens Competition Regional Finalists" (PDF). Siemens Foundation. 2006. Retrieved 6 February 2014.
10. "Siemens Competition". Siemens Foundation. 2007–2009. Retrieved 6 February 2014.
11. "Siemens Competition". Siemens Foundation. 2011–2013. Retrieved 6 February 2014.
12. "Siemens Competition". Internet Wayback Machine: Siemens Foundation. 2010. Archived from the original on June 13, 2011.
13. "Siemens Foundation". Siemens Foundation. 2014. Retrieved 22 October 2014.
14. "Siemens Competition". Siemens Foundation. 2014. Retrieved 10 December 2014.
15. "Regional Finalists Announced for 2015 Siemens Competition in Math, Science and Technology". Siemens Foundation. 19 October 2015.
16. "Florida and New York Students Capture $100,000 Scholarship Prizes in 2015 Siemens Competition in Math, Science & Technology". Siemens Foundation. 8 December 2015.
17. "About the Siemens Foundation". Siemens Foundation. Retrieved 6 February 2014.

External links

• Siemens Foundation Website