Aditya Koushik, with La Cueva Team 3, had enough points to win the round in the New Mexico Science Bowl. His team went on to win 3rd place in the competition. (Photo by Craig Fritz) Click on the thumbnail for a high-resolution image.
The New Mexico Regional Science Bowl, sponsored by Sandia National Laboratories, brought together 14 high school teams from across the state as part of the Department of Energy's National Science Bowl competition. Los Alamos High School's "Team 1" emerged victorious.
This comes just weeks after Los Alamos Middle School's "Team 2" won during the middle school competition.
Los Alamos High School Team 1: Coach Ali Renner, left, Isaac Gao, Linnhtet Htoon, Minhtet Htoon, Charles Cai, Mary Couture. (Photo by Debra Menke) Click on the thumbnail for a high-resolution image.
The science bowl is a Jeopardy-like event for high and middle school students who have a strong interest and academic ability in mathematics and science. Teams face off in a fast-paced question-and-answer format and are tested on a range of science disciplines, including biology, earth and space science, physics, energy and math. This year's event took place on March 11 at Albuquerque Academy, with specialists from Sandia serving as judges, scorekeepers and timekeepers.
In all, 14 teams, comprised of 65 students from eight high schools, competed for the regional title and the chance to compete at the 2023 National Finals in Washington, D.C., in April. Participating schools included:
- Cuba High School
- Eldorado High School
- Los Alamos High School
- Mescalero High School
- Apache High School
- Santa Fe High School
- Six Directions Indigenous High School
- Albuquerque Academy
- La Cueva High School
Los Alamos Middle School Team 2: Rafa Rocha, left, Lydia Davis, Amy Bartlett-Gaunt, Julia Zou, Drew Bacrania. (Photo by Amy Bartlett-Gaunt) Click on the thumbnail for a high-resolution image.
The winners were:
1st place - Los Alamos team 1
2nd place - La Cueva team 1
3rd place - La Cueva team 3
Regional science bowl championship teams receive an all-expenses-paid trip to Washington, D.C., where they take part in science activities, sightseeing and competitions. The top two middle and high school teams will win $5,000 for their schools' math and science departments. Schools placing in the top 16 will win $1,000 for their schools' science departments.
"The National Science Bowl is a great opportunity for young people across America to come together through science," said U.S. Department of Energy Deputy Secretary David Turk. "And I want to congratulate the Los Alamos High School team on advancing to the National Finals! Good luck to you - our future scientists, innovators, and leaders."
La Cueva Team 1 tries to figure out a bonus question during the championship round of the New Mexico Regional DOE Science Bowl. (Photo by Craig Fritz) Click on the thumbnail for a high-resolution image.
The Department of Energy created the National Science Bowl in 1991 to encourage students to excel in mathematics and science and to pursue careers in these fields. More than 320,000 students have participated in the National Science Bowl throughout its 31-year history, and it
is one of the nation's largest science competitions. This year more than 9,000 students are expected to compete.
The National Science Bowl is scheduled for April 27-May 1.
Sandia National Laboratories is a multimission laboratory operated by National Technology and Engineering Solutions of Sandia LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Honeywell International Inc., for the U.S. Department of Energy's National Nuclear Security Administration. Sandia Labs has major research and development responsibilities in nuclear deterrence, global security, defense, energy technologies and economic competitiveness, with main facilities in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and Livermore, California.
