Extra's coverage of Intel Science Fair held recently in Washington D.C.

RealAudio: Vice President Cheney speaks at the 60th Intel Science Talent Search.

Intel Fair finalists discuss:
African Americans and Science

Women and Science

Read more about the Intel Talent Search

Facinated By Science

By Mariangela Lisanti, 17
Staples High School
Westport, CT

"That did not just happen," I thought to myself after the announcement was made that I had just won a $100,000 scholarship for first place in the Intel Science Talent Search. As I walked to accept the medal, I felt like I was living a reoccurring dream.

As a child, I used to watch Sesame Street and Mr. Rogers, and I played with Barbies. I often watched my hermit crabs wobble across the rocky floor of their plastic cage. I read books (Judy Bloom was always a favorite.) I played the violin, watched movies, and went swimming with my friends. This was my childhood. Nothing out of the ordinary. I didn't know what calculus was.

When I entered high school, I knew that I wanted to pursue science, but was not sure what to do. My school did not have a research program in place and there were no science clubs. As a result, no one participated in regional or national science fairs. With the support of some amazing teachers, though, I was able to participate in several local fairs. I also founded the National Engineering Design Challenge Team (NEDC), a group that designs and builds inventions for competition. By my junior year, I was ready to begin serious research.

I began working at Yale during the summer. I took the train to the lab every day, working about sixty hours a week. By the end of the summer, I began to write my paper, attempting to summarize my research on conductance quantization into just twenty pages. I submitted my application for the Intel Science Talent Search in late November and then waited in suspense for the semifinalist and finalist announcements.

If you take the scientists you wish you could meet and the students you wish you could get to know and put them together for one week…that's the Intel Science Talent Search. Although the judges asked us challenging questions during the interviews, they were still very friendly. For example, Dr. Osheroff, a Nobel Laureate in Physics, came to watch the movie Men in Black with us. He had previously spoken with me about some ideas he had for my new experiments, and we had just eaten dinner together in a very relaxed atmosphere.

I also had the opportunity to meet with Dr. Phillips, Nobel Laureate in Physics, for one afternoon in his lab at the National Institute of Standards and Technology. I sat in his office, where we talked about how family and faith both play an integral role in science. He then gave me a tour of his lab, explaining the research that had won him international recognition, and encouraged me to keep in touch with him.

The other finalists at the Intel STS competition were some of the most amazing people I have ever met. These students, who could stand in front of their posters and awe you by their sheer brilliance, were so much fun to be around. For the first time in my life, I met others who not only had a passion for learning, but also who had a burning desire to better the world.

Whether it be through medicine, through theoretical math calculations, or through experiments in particle physics, these students knew what they wanted and went for it. It was amazing to see such brilliance coupled with such perseverance.

When we said goodbye at the end of our stay in Washington, we talked of our time together and what we planned to do in the future. We talked of how much fun we had and of keeping in touch. I will never forget that night as I walked out of the hotel into the rain, lugging my suitcase behind me. I looked back through the glass doors and saw everyone waving goodbye.

I realized that these were the leaders of the future and I was immensely grateful for having had the opportunity to meet them. Now, we are all looking forward to seeing each other again at the next science competition - Intel International Science and Engineering Fair in San Jose, CA.

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