Two Newton North Students Named Semi-Finalists in Intel Science Talent Search

Two Newton North High School seniors have been named as semi-finalists in one of the country's most prestigious high school science competitions. 

Christina Chen, 18, and Giri Anand, 17, are two of 300 student semi-finalists from across the nation who will compete for $1.25 million in awards through the 2013 Intel Science Talent Search (Intel STS).

Anand submitted the project "Disordered Protein Regions, Their Interactions, and Roles in Human Disease: Measurement via Disease-linked Genetic Variants." Chen's project is titled "Apollonian Equilateral Triangles."

Newton North High School is the only high school in in the state with two semi-finalists in the Intel STS, according to Newton North High School Science and Technology/Engineering Dept. Head Amy D. Picard Winston.

Later this week, 40 finalists will be chosen from the pool of semi-finalists. The finalists are then invited to Washington, D.C. in March to display their work to judges, meet with scientists and compete for the top prize of $100,000.

The Intel STS is a program of the Society of Science & the Public. It was formerly known as the Westinghouse Science Talent Search.

According to the Intel STS website, competition alumni include seven Nobel laureates, National Medal of Science recipients and many other notable math and science scholars.

Finalists will be announced on Wednesday, Jan. 23.