Two students in the GazetteLeader coverage area – one from a public school, the other from a private school – have been named among the nation’s 40 finalists in the 2024 Regeneron Science Talent Search.
David Cao of Thomas Jefferson High School for Science & Technology and Arav Bhargava of the Potomac School move on to compete in early March for more than $1.8 million in prizes. The top prize is $250,000.
Cao and Bhargava were among 11 students from the GazetteLeader coverage area who earlier in January had been named among 300 top scholars, from whom the 40 finalists were selected. As finalists, they are among a field from 36 different schools representing 19 states.
Scholars were chosen based on their outstanding research, leadership skills, community involvement, commitment to academics, creativity in asking scientific questions and exceptional promise as STEM leaders demonstrated through the submission of their original, independent research projects, essays and recommendations.
More than 2,100 students entered this year’s competition, the highest number since the 1950s. Before being sponsored by Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, the competition had been sponsored first by Westinghouse and then by Intel.
Cao’s project for the competition is “The Implications of ‘Oumuamua on Panspermia,” while Bhargava’s project is “Low-Cost, 3D-Printed, Universal-Fit, Transradial Socket for Amputees in Developing Countries.”
For information on the competition, see the Website at https://www.societyforscience.org/blog/top-40-selected-in-regeneron-science-talent-search-2024/.
