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The science competitions your students can enter this year
By Emma Molloy
Discover STEM-themed competitions for you and your students to enter in this academic year
Source: © Shutterstock
Learn about the fantastic array of science competitions your students can enter – so you can sign up as soon as possible
There is a great range of science competitions out there that your students can enter. Competitions come in all shapes and sizes, including essay writing, photography and video competitions, and can be local or national events.
Besides the array of downloadable materials you can make use of in your lessons, as homework or part of a science club, the benefits of taking part include learning how to work in a team, grasping how lessons apply to real-world problems, and there could even be some extra cash to bag!
You can jump straight to the lists of science-writing competitions , or more arty competitions (such as photography and drawing prizes), or simply read on to discover what’s open to you and your students this academic year.
These competitions have been ordered by closing date. Listing a competition does not serve as an endorsement by the RSC. Last updated: 16 May 2024.
Cambridge Chemistry Challenge
Age: 19 or younger
Registration opens: now
Closes: 1 June 2024
This competition — aimed at Year 12 students but available to younger students — is designed to stretch and challenge students beyond the curriculum interested in chemistry and is excellent experience for anyone considering chemistry for further study.
Students sit a 90-minute written paper under exam conditions in school, which is sent out to schools in advance. Mark schemes are available to teachers, and for schools submitting more than five scripts, these should be marked by the teacher. Scripts of students scoring over 50% are then submitted. Students who perform well receive a certificate and the best performers are invited to join a residential camp at the University of Cambridge at the end of August
The website contains lots of past papers and mark schemes, which are a valuable resource for teachers. Full details are on the website .
Science meets art
If you have some students who would be hooked by the artistic side of science, check out these competitions:
- RSB Photography competition (open to all ages; opens March 2024; £500 top prize for under 18s)
- RSB Nancy Rothwell Award for specimen drawing (ages 7–18; open March–July 2024; prizes include set of drawing pencils and small cash prizes for students and schools)
- Science Without Borders challenge is an artwork competition with a focus on ocean conservation. The 2024 theme is ‘hidden wonders of the deep’ (ages 11–19; closes 4 March 2024; maximum prize of $500)
- British Science Week poster competition ; this year’s theme will be ‘time’ (ages 3–14; closes March 2024)
- RPS Woman Science Photographer of the Year is open to women of all ages and backgrounds (open and under 18s; closing date TBC but expected March 2024)
- Minds Underground Competitions ; Minds Underground run a number of essay competitions each year covering a variety of STEM and other topics (all ages; closing dates vary but 2024 questions will be released January 2024, see website for full details)
UKBC Intermediate Biology Olympiad
Age: Students in first year of 16+ education
Registration opens: now open
Competition dates: 5–12 June 2024
This international, annual competition is open to students in the first year of post-16 education in the UK. The competition consists of a one-hour multiple choice paper that is taken online under formal exam conditions. Questions cover topics students will be familiar with alongside some new concepts to test their problem-solving skills and understanding of core principals.
Practice papers are available to print to help students prepare. The competition is free to enter for UK schools and participants receive an e-certificate that recognises their level of achievement.
Find more information, including registering your school to take part, on the UKBC website .
Science writing competitions
Numerous essays competitions run each year covering all aspects and areas of STEM. Below is just a selection of some of the competitions out there. Entries into science writing competitions make great additions to UCAS applications, and they get students thinking about science, too.
- The Oxford Scientist Schools’ Science Writing Competition (700-word essay that teachers submit; ages 15–18; deadline 10 July 2024; prize includes being published in the magazine and feedback).
- Newnham College, Camb ridge (2000-word academic essay; age 16–18 women at state school only; deadline 8 July 2024; winners receive up to £400 to split with their school). Teachers can sign up to mailing lists now to hear more about this essay competition and other events from the college.
IET Faraday Challenge
Registration opens: January 2024 for the 2024–2025 season
Closes: July 2024
Faraday Challenges are cross-curricular STEM activity days for UK schools run by the Institution of Engineering and Technology. This annual competition draws on students’ practical science and engineering skills, asking them to work in teams to solve real-world engineering problems and think creatively. Schools can host Challenge Days and invite teams from local schools to join them or apply to join a day at another school. Planning for these events starts early, so plenty of time to get organised for the day.
Teams should be made up of six students aged 12–13 years old (England and Wales Year 8, Scotland S1/S2, Northern Ireland Year 9). Schools may host a challenge day themselves or attend one hosted at another school.
Students win prizes for themselves and a trophy for their school. There is also a national league table and the top teams from across the UK go through to the national final, with the chance to win a cash prize of up to £1000 for their school. Plus, by taking part students will also meet the criteria for achieving a CREST Discovery Award.
If you are not able to enter into the main competition, there is also the opportunity for students to take part in the Virtual Faraday Challenge open to anyone aged 7–15.
Local to Newcastle?
Newcastle Secondary School SciFair is a university-run secondary school science fair for students from state schools across Newcastle. Sci-Fair is a whole day event that will take place during British Science Week. Students can get the opportunity to present their models, posters or PowerPoint presentations about a scientific topic of their choosing. SciFair is open to ages 11–16. There are multiple prizes to be won on the day to recognise student’s efforts. Spaces are limited capacity, so students should wait for their projects to be approved before starting work.
EMBL Art and Science Project
Age: 14–18 Participation deadline: 31 August 2024
Discover the world of proteins with the European Molecular Biology Laboratory, and create an artwork inspired by what you’ve learned. Cash prizes of up to €100.
Visit the website to find out more.
Deadlines passed:
Stockholm uk junior water prize.
Submissions open: 29 Feb 2024
Submission deadline: 13 May 2024
This prize challenges young people in STEM to develop innovative yet practical solutions to the global water crisis. Entrants decide on a topic or problem that they want to investigate and undertake background research and experimental work before submitting a full written report.
Students whose reports are shortlisted get to present their work virtually to the judges. The winning UK entry receives £1,000 cash prize and a fully funded trip to represent the UK and their school at the Stockholm Junior Water Prize competition in Sweden in August and be in with a chance to win the international grand prize of US$15,000!
Learn more on the website .
UKBC Biology Challenge
Competition dates: 1–17 May 2024
The Biology Challenge is a fun, annual competition open to students aged 13–15 in the UK. The challenge compromises of two, 25-minute, multiple-choice papers, and students need to complete both papers to be considered for an award category.
The questions set cover the school curriculum, but also caters to budding biologists whose knowledge has been enhanced by reading books and magazines, watching natural history programmes and taking a keen interest in all things biology.
Practice papers are available to help students prepare. The competition is free to enter for UK schools and participants receive an e-certificate that recognises their category of achievement.
Find more information and register your school to take part on the Biology Challenge website .
BIEA Youth STEAM Competition
Registration opens: October 2023
Closes: April 2024 for first-round submissions
The BIEA Youth STEAM Competition asks students to use their creativity to come up with ideas for a more sustainable future based on a specific theme. The theme for 2024 has yet to be announced, but the theme for 2023 was “developing solutions for sustainable cities”. Students research, design and present their solution, including a written report.
Students can enter as individuals or in teams of up to five members and schools can enter more than one team. There are lots of competition categories to cover all age groups. Submissions are expected to be accepted from January 2024 and the international final to be in July 2024. Learn more on the competition website .
Royal College of Science Union (RCSU) Science Challenge
Registration opens: 1 March 2024
Closes: 26 April 2024
Imperial College London’s RCSU Science Challenge is all about science communication – requiring students to demonstrate their skills in debate and reasoning and teach the public about science and its consequences. Questions on a given theme are set by eminent scientists – who even read the shortlisted entries, so there’s a real chance students’ work will be seen by world-leading academics. This year’s theme is Hidden depth.
Students can answer one of the questions in either written or video form of up to 1000 words or three minutes, 30 seconds, respectively. Winners receive cash prizes, plus there are non-cash prizes for the runners up.
Shortlisted candidates will be invited to the grand final on 21 June 2024 at the Royal Institution, where they will deliver a short presentation. Find more information about taking part on the challenge website .
Unsung Heroes of Science video competition
Close s: 30 April 2024
The International Unsung Heroes of Science video competition from Hertford College, University of Oxford is open to all 16–18 students. Entrants are tasked with making a two-minute video sharing the story of a scientist whose contributions were overlooked. Entries can be submitted by individuals or in teams of up to three.
The competition website also has lesson plans and links to videos of previous unsung heros, which are great resources for teachers to inspire their students.
British Science Week poster competition
Age: 3–14 Registration opened: January 2024 Closes: March 2024
British Science Week will run from 8–17 March. Alongside numerous activities and events across the country, there will be a themed poster competition – and this year’s theme will is ‘time’.
Entrants can explore a wide range of ideas covered by the broad theme. Judges are on the look out for an innovative angle or creative interpretation of the theme; clear, accurate and informative content; and effective, engaging communication. This competition is a great way for students to practise their communication skills. There are numerous prizes up for grabs that cover all age categories.
Entrants can be teams or individuals from any organisation, although schools are limited to five entries. Find out more on the website , including activity packs and other resources to make the most of British Science Week.
Big Bang Young Scientists and Engineers Competition
Age: 11–18 Registration opens: October 2023 Closes: 27 March 2024
The Big Bang Competition is open to young people aged 11 to 18 in state-funded education or who are home educated or who enter as part of a community group. Private school participants can get involved as part of a collaboration with state-school peers.
Participants complete project-based work, focusing on investigation, discovery and use of scientific methods. Students choose their own STEM topic and work to submit their project as a written report or short video. The possibilities are endless!
Students can include their involvement in the competition in their extracurricular activities on UCAS forms and personal statements and have a chance of winning a range of awards and cash prizes.
Find out how to get started and get inspired with past projects on the Big Bang website .
MathWorks Math Modeling challenge
Age: 16–19 (England and Wales only) Registration opens: November 2023 Closes: 24 February 2024
The M3 Challenge is an internet-based applied maths competition that inspires participants to pursue STEM education and careers. Working in teams of three to five students, participants have 14 consecutive hours to solve an open-ended maths-modelling problem based around a real issue during the challenge weekend, 1–4 March 2024.
The problem typically has a socially conscious theme – equity, the environment, conservation or recycling, energy use, health, and other topics that young people care about. The challenge gives students the opportunity to use maths modelling processes to represent, analyse, make predictions and otherwise provide insight into real-world phenomena. For example, 2023’s problem centred around modelling the impacts of e-bikes to better understand if they are likely to become part of a global, more sustainable energy plan.
Numerous free resources , including modelling and coding handbooks, videos and sample problems are available to help teams prepare for the event.
The competition’s final presentation and awards ceremony event is held in New York City in late April – an all-expense paid experience for the finalist teams. These top teams will be awarded scholarships toward the pursuit of higher education, with members of the overall winning team receiving $20,000 (»£16,000).
For rules, resources and to register, visit the competition website .
The Cambridge Upper Secondary Science Competition
Age: 16–18 Registration opens: now Closes: 30 September 2023 and 31 March 2024
The Cambridge Upper Secondary Science Competition , run by Cambridge Assessment, is an exciting extra-curricular activity for teams of aspiring scientists who are studying with the Cambridge IGCSE or O Level science programmes.
Teams of three to six students choose a topic and work on a scientific investigation over 20–25 hours. The competition encourages investigations with some practical or community relevance and an eye on sustainability.
Projects may involve laboratory work and should include creative and collaborative working, critical thinking and reflection. Students should be given the opportunity to present their results to a wider audience, perhaps at a science fair or other school event.
Teachers provide initial project evaluations and the best are put forward for consideration by a panel of experts. The winning team receives a certificate and is featured on the competition website. The competition runs twice a year, so keep abreast of all the dates on the website .
TeenTech Awards
Age: 11–16 Registration opens: now Closes: March 2024 for first-round submissions
The TeenTech Awards encourage students to see how they might apply science and technology to real-world problems across several different categories, from food and retail through the future of transport to wearable technology. Students identify an opportunity or a problem, suggest a solution and research the market.
Students can work in teams of up to three people and there are lots of award categories. All submitted projects receive feedback and a bronze, silver or gold award. The event is well supported with training sessions for teachers and students, so everyone knows what to expect and what the judges will be looking for!
The best projects go forward to the TeenTech Awards Final for judging and the winning school in each category will receive a cash prize. The final is expected to take place in London in June 2024.
Schools’ Analyst
Age: 16–17 Registration opens: soon Closes: 23 February 2024
The Schools’ Analyst Competition is returning to schools in 2024. Run collaboratively by the Analytical Chemistry Trust Fund and the Royal Society of Chemistry, this event allows students to expand their chemistry knowledge and skills through practical analytical experiments. Students must be in Year 12 (England, Wales, NI)/S5 (Scotland)/5th Year (Ireland).
Schools and colleges register their interest to host a heat and, if randomly selected, can now enter up to 25 teams of three students to compete to be crowned the overall school winner. Each winning school team will then compete within their region to find regional winners. Regional winners receive a cash prize for themselves and their school.
Register your school to take part by 23 February 2024. To take part, students only need access to standard school laboratory equipment and some consumables (a bursary is available for those who need it).
Equipment boxes are sent to 400 entrants, selected at random, and delivered in advance of the event. Results must be submitted by 17 May in Ireland (to ensure schools have the chance to award winners before the summer holidays) and 14 June elsewhere.
Slingshot Challenge
Age: 13–18 Registration opens: now Closes: 1 February 2024
The Slingshot Challenge is run by National Geographic and is an exciting opportunity for students to get involved with the global programme. Students can enter in teams of up to six. Individual entries are welcomed although all entries are expected to involve collaboration with peers, stakeholders, and/or marginalized communities.
Students work to prepare a short, 1-minute video, from topics with an environmental focus. Training sessions for teachers and resource/tool kits are available from the website and the providers can offer feedback and technical support ahead of official submissions.
Videos are expected to put forward compelling, evidence-based information and be engaging for the audience. A small number of motivating prizes are awarded each year to the student of up to $10,000.
For full details see the Slingshot Challenge website .
UK Chemistry Olympiad
Age: 16–18 (recommended) Registration opens: September 2023 Closes: January 2024
Run by the RSC, the UK Chemistry Olympiad is designed to challenge and inspire older secondary-school students, by encouraging them to push themselves, boost their critical problem-solving skills and test their knowledge in real-world situations. Explore past papers to get an idea of the types of questions involved.
There are three rounds that culminate with the prestigious International Chemistry Olympiad , which will take place this year in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Round 1, a written test taken in your school, is scheduled to take place on 25 January 2024. Students then receive bronze, silver or gold certificates depending on their scores. Up to 30 students will then be selected to move on to the second round – a training weekend at the University of Nottingham. Four students will then be chosen to represent the UK in the international competition from 21–30 July 2024.
To get started, register your school or college. Do this and find out more information about preparing on the Olympiad homepage .
Top of the Bench
Age: 14–16 Registration opens: soon Closes: January 2024
Top of the Bench (TOTB) is an annual practical chemistry competition that has been running for over 20 years. It’s a long-standing favourite for students and teachers, and provides an opportunity for students to put their teamwork and practical skills to the test.
Regional heats are led by RSC local sections between October and January. The winning team from each heat progresses to the national final, held in the spring at a UK university (where there is also a session for teachers to explore resources and classroom ideas with one of the RSC’s education coordinators).
First prize is awarded to the best overall school performance, with five teams receiving runners up prizes. The Jacqui Clee Award is also awarded each year to the student who makes an outstanding individual contribution.
Teams must consist of four students: two from year 9/S2; one from year 10/S3; one from year 11/S4.
Find more information including past papers and how to apply on the TOTB homepage .
Imperial College Science & Innovation Competition
Age: 4–adult Registration opens: September 2023 Closes: 15 December 2023
The Science & Innovation Competition , run by the Faculty of Natural Sciences at Imperial College, aims to motivate primary and secondary-aged children to engage with science, to encourage them to work as part of a team and engage in fun activities. Adults are also welcome to enter.
Teams of two to four people are asked to develop a new and innovative scientific solution to help achieve one of the United Nation’s Global Goals for Sustainable Development . To enter, teams need to create a five-minute film that describes the science behind their idea. Finalists are invited to take part in an event during spring 2024 at Imperial College, London (date to be confirmed). Learn more on the website .
Global essay competition: Young voices in the chemical sciences for sustainability
Age: 35 and under Registration opens: now Closes: 31 March 2023
An annual essay competition on the role of the chemical sciences in sustainability, organised by the International Organization for Chemical Sciences in Development (IOCD) in collaboration with the Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC). The competition is open globally to entrants under 35 years of age. The theme for the 2023 competition is: How can the chemical sciences lead the stewardship of the Earth’s element resources?
Essays will be grouped into seven regions for shortlisting and selection of winners, based on the entrant’s country of normal residence. Each regional winner will receive a prize of US$500 and their entries will be published in RSC Sustainability . The shortlisted essays will be collected in an annual compendium, Young voices in the chemical sciences for sustainability , available on the IOCD’s website. Individual shortlisted entries will also be featured from time to time on IOCD’s website.
Essays will be judged on how well they highlight the importance of scientific approaches grounded in the chemical sciences for solving sustainability challenges. Entrants should take a broad, global perspective, and reflect on the intersection of science, society and policy aspects, rather than describing a particular scientific advance in great technical detail. Essays must not exceed 1500 words of body copy.
Cambridge Chemistry Race
Age: 16–18 Registration opens: Mon 5 December 2022 Closes: February 2023
In the Cambridge Chemistry Race , teams of 3–5 students solve as many theoretical problems as they can over the course of two hours – ranging from easy riddles to tasks of A-level difficulty and complex chemical problems.
Once a team has solved a question, the examiner verifies their answer and hands them the next question. Points are awarded based on the number of successful attempts. Whoever gets the most points wins!
Students are allowed to use a calculator, books, notes, and printed literature. The challenge aims to test problem-solving skills and chemical understanding rather than knowledge. Explore past questions and solutions here to get an idea of what’s in store.
Schools may only enter one team each and places are first come first served.
The competition is run in collaboration with the University of Cambridge’s Department of Chemistry. This year, it is joined by the University of Oxford too, so students may compete in either city. The competition will take place on Saturday 4 February 2023. Learn more on the competition website .
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The Scientific Teen
Stem by the youth, for the youth.
Win a microscope, cash prizes and more!
The scientific teen is an organization dedicated to stem education and opportunity, and we are delighted to continue this mission with our inaugural stem essay contest.
We are proudly sponsored by Crimson Education, Evident, GT Vision, StickerGiant and Taskade
Open for entries: 1 4th March 2023
Submission deadline: 1st May 2023
Winners announced: Start of June at our prize-w inning event!
Technology category
Microsco pe sponsored by GT Vision
$150 sponsored by Crimson Education
Lifetime Taskade Unlimited sponsored by Taskade
Scientific Teen merch sponsored by StickerGiant
2ND PRIZE:
$100 sponsored by Crimson Education
Lifetime Taskade Unlimited sponsored by Taskade
3RD PRIZE:
$50 sponsored by Crimson Education
Science category
Microsc ope sponsored by Evident
All entrants will be offered 5-year upgrades to Taskade Unlimited on Taskade!
Essay questions
Technology category :
Which piece of technology will have the greatest impact in the near future and why?
Science category :
Describe a recent scientific breakthrough you consider important.
Rules and guidelines
Essays must be between 750 and 1000 words
References must be in the APA referencing style.
Include a bibliography (the bibliography will not be included in the word count)
Essays must be written in English
You must be between the ages of 13 and 18 on the date of submission (14th March 2023)
Students may submit only one entry per subj ect category, but may enter both categories
Submit essays as a PDF, Microsoft Word document or a Google Doc
Essays must be submitted by 5pm EST on May 1st
Any submissions that do not follow these guidelines will be discounted
We will judge entries based on the following criteria:
Clar ity : how well the essay explains the chosen topic: any reader should be able to understand the scientific research.
Research : whether the essay has used valid and relevant sources; whether an appropriate bibliography has been created.
Analysis : whether the essay addresses why the topic matters in the wider context of the world and justifies the research as it relates to the question.
Language : how engaging the essay is; whether it uses an appropriate style and tone; whether it uses correct grammar, spelling and punctuation.
Judging Criteria
If you do not have a gmail account, please email your submission as a pdf and all your details to [email protected], no data will be shared with third parties .
The Scientific Teen STEM Essay contest is proudly sponsored by Crimson Education.
Crimson Education is the world's leading US/UK university admissions consultancy. They have a personalised data-driven approach that has helped thousands of students gain admission into the Ivy League, Oxbridge, and other top universities.
Crimson was founded in 2013 with a vision to equalise the university admissions playing field, serving as the launching pad that equips students across the globe to overcome barriers of geography and legacy to compete on the world stage. It was founded by three students, including CEO Jamie Beaton who had just been accepted to 25 of the world's best universities including Harvard, Stanford, Princeton and Cambridge.
Crimson now has 28 offices around the world, with over 2,400 mentors supporting students on their journey to their dream university.
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At Evident, we are guided by the scientific spirit—innovation and exploration are at the heart of what we do. Committed to making people’s lives healthier, safer, and more fulfilling, we support our customers with solutions that solve their challenges and advance their work; whether it’s researching medical breakthroughs, inspecting infrastructure, or exposing hidden toxins in consumer products.
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We are thrilled to have been invited by The Scientific Teen to contribute a prize for the STEM Essay Writing Competition and in doing so, helping to raise scientific awareness and education for our next generation.
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Website: www.gtvision.co.uk
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- 25 Science Research Competitions for High Schoolers
What’s Covered:
- Why Should You Enter a Science Research Competition?
- How Do Science Research Competitions Affect My Admissions Chances?
Participating in a science research competition as a high schooler can not only allow you to explore one of your passions, but also make you a more competitive candidate during the college admissions process. There’s a wide variety of science research competitions designed for high schoolers, including the high-profile contests listed below.
Why Should You Enter a Science Research Competition?
Entering a science research competition demonstrates that you take initiative and that you care about academics beyond the grades in your courses, both of which are qualities that colleges appreciate in prospective students.
Participation in competitions is already a strong extracurricular activity that’s likely to make your application more memorable, and successes—like making the finals or winning—can open additional doors, to scholarships or even research programs with professors once you get to college.
If competition isn’t really your thing, another way to showcase your initiative and skills is to work on an independent research paper. There are a number of ways to do independent research, including working with a high school teacher, reaching out to local professors, or taking part in a structured research program.
For example, the Lumiere Research Scholar Program is one type of structured research program tailored for high school students. In the program, you work one-on-one with a researcher on an independent research project. The program is run by researchers from Harvard and helps create the structure for you to get started quickly doing your own research. Many of Lumiere’s alums have used their research in the structured program to then apply to research competitions like ISEF.
Whether you participate in a structured program first or dive right into a competition, engaging in research allows you to deepen your understanding of one of your interests, while simultaneously boosting your profile for college admissions.
25 Science Research Competitions for High Schoolers
1. american academy of neurology neuroscience research prize.
Grades: 9-12
Type: National
The American Academy of Neurology (AAN) Neuroscience Research Prize competition challenges students to investigate problems regarding the brain or nervous system. The competition is only open to individual students—group projects are ineligible. Teachers are encouraged to provide guidance and support; however, they should allow students to demonstrate their own creativity.
Winners receive a monetary prize and the chance to present their projects at the AAN Annual Meeting.
2. NCF-Envirothon
Type: State, National, and International
Envirothon is North America’s largest environmental education competition, with more than 25,000 students participating in the multi-level competition each year. Student teams are first challenged at state-level competitions, with the winners moving on to face top teams from across the globe at the annual international competition.
The international competition is a six-day event held in a different location each summer—for example, on an open range of the American West one year, and at a coastal community in eastern Canada the next. Participants have the chance to win thousands of dollars in scholarships.
3. Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF)
Type: Local, Regional, and International
The Regeneron ISEF is the world’s largest international pre-college STEM competition—high school students representing all 50 states and more than 70 countries, regions, and territories, take part. Students showcase independent research and compete across 22 categories for awards ranging from $500 to $75,000.
This is not a group-based competition—individual students enroll in local school science fairs before advancing to upper-level competitions in hopes of reaching the national stage.
4. National Science Bowl
Type: National
Hosted by the Department of Energy in Washington, D.C., the National Science Bowl is a highly publicized competition that tests students’ knowledge in all areas of science and mathematics, including biology, chemistry, earth science, physics, energy, and math. Students compete in teams of four (plus an alternate) and have a teacher who serves as an advisor.
The National Science Bowl is one of the largest science competitions in the country—roughly 344,000 students have participated in it throughout its 34-year history.
5. National Science Olympiad
Type: State and National
One of the nation’s premier STEM competitions, the National Science Olympiad is the pinnacle of achievement for the country’s top Science Olympiad teams. Teams compete annually for the opportunity to win prizes and scholarships, including a one-time $10,000 Science Olympiad Founders’ Scholarship. About 6,000 teams compete each year, beginning at the regional level in hopes of reaching the national competition.
6. Regeneron Science Talent Search (STS)
Established in 1942 and hosted by the Society for Science, the Regeneron Science Talent Search is considered the nation’s most prestigious high school science research competition. The competition tasks young scientists with presenting their original research before a panel of nationally recognized professional scientists.
Of the roughly 1,800 entrants, 300 Regeneron STS scholars are selected—they and their schools are awarded $2,000 each. From that pool of scholars, 40 finalists are then identified to receive an all-expenses-paid trip to Washington, D.C., where they compete for an additional $1.8 million in awards, with a top prize of $250,000.
7. Stockholm Junior Water Prize
Type: Regional, State, National, and International
In this competition, students from around the world seek to address the current and future water challenges facing the world. Competition for the Stockholm Junior Water Prize occurs on four levels: regional, state, national, and international.
- Regional winners receive a certificate and a nomination to compete in the state competition.
- State winners receive a medal and an all-expenses-paid trip to compete in the national competition.
- National winners receive a trophy, a $10,000 scholarship, and an all-expenses-paid trip to the international competition in Stockholm, Sweden.
- International winners receive a crystal trophy and a $15,000 scholarship, along with a $5,000 award for their school.
In order to participate, students begin to research and develop a practical project proposal either individually or with a group.
8. TOPSS Competition for High School Psychology Students
To participate in this competition, students must submit a video (up to 3 minutes long) that demonstrates an interest in and understanding of a topic in psychology that they think could benefit their local community and improve lives. Students must utilize at least one peer-reviewed research study on their topic, and must include a closing slide citing their source(s). Up to three winners are chosen to receive a $300 scholarship.
9. Junior Science and Humanities Symposium (JSHS) National Competition
Type: Regional and National
The Junior Science and Humanities Symposium National Competition is one of the country’s longest-running STEM competitions—participants submit and present scientific research papers, and compete for military-sponsored undergraduate scholarships.
The JSHS national competition is designed to emulate a professional symposium. Research projects are organized into categories such as Environmental Science, Engineering and Technology, and Medicine and Health. After competing regionally, about 250 students are chosen to attend an annual symposium to showcase their work.
10. MIT THINK Scholars Program
In the fall of each year, students who have thoroughly explored the background of a potential research project and are looking to get it off the ground can present their proposals to a group of undergraduate students at MIT . If selected, students will be able to carry out their project, while receiving up to $1,000 in funding. They’ll also be invited to a four-day, all-expenses paid trip to MIT’s campus.
Finalists participate in weekly mentorship meetings and will have the opportunity to present their findings to MIT students and faculty at the end of the program.
11. Conrad Challenge
Teams of two to five students are tasked with designing and detailing project proposals to tackle various problems in categories such as Aerospace & Aviation, Health & Nutrition, Cyber-Technology & Security, and Energy & Environment. In doing so, they will identify problems in the world and come up with feasible and innovative solutions, while working with judges and mentors along the way.
Finalists will be selected from the competing teams and invited to the Innovation Summit in Houston, where they will pitch their projects to judges and potentially receive numerous prizes and awards, ranging from scholarships to professional networking opportunities.
12. USA Biolympiad Competition
Type: National and International
Students will undergo multiple rounds of testing that will eventually pinpoint 20 finalists—out of nearly 10,000 students annually—for selection into a residential training program to represent the USA in the International Biology Olympiad. This is one of the most prestigious and difficult competitions for high school scientists–it is the ultimate test for students devoted to the future of biology.
13. Davidson Fellows Scholarship
While not exclusive to STEM, the Davidson Fellows program offers various major scholarships for students interested in careers in sciences—scholarship categories include Science, Technology, and Mathematics. The program requires students to submit significant work that is recognized as meaningful and has the potential to make a positive contribution to society.
Scholarships range from $10,000 to $50,000.
14. Destination Imagination
Type: Regional, State, National, International
Destination Imagination is another worldwide competition that covers a variety of subjects, but it specializes in science-based challenges. Students will form teams and choose from a list of different challenges to compete in, in categories such as Technical, Scientific, and Engineering.
Students will solve these challenges and present their solutions in regional competitions. Regional winners will move on to statewide competitions before being invited to the Global Finals, where students from 36 states, 7 Canadian provinces, and 24 countries compete for awards.
15. Breakthrough Junior Challenge
For students looking for a more creative, unconventional competition, the Breakthrough Junior Challenge tasks students with creating a short two-minute video in which they explain a complex scientific concept and demonstrate how it works in practice.
Winning applicants will need to demonstrate immense creativity and deep understanding of complex scientific concepts. Rest assured, the prize is worth the difficulty, with awards including a $250,000 college scholarship, a $100,000 grant to the winner’s school for the development of a science lab, and a $50,000 award to a teacher of the winner’s choosing.
16. Biotechnology Institute BioGENEius Challenge
Type: State and National
Students from across the country are invited to participate in the Biotechnology Institute’s BioGENEius Challenge, where they’re able to complete a project in the category of Healthcare, Sustainability, or Environment. Their project must be extensive, and produce concrete results, and they will then compete in either a local or a virtual “At-Large” competition, with other student competitors from around the world.
17. Genes in Space
Grades: 7-12
For students interested in the science of space and its overlap with our current understanding of the human genome, this competition combines the two worlds by tasking students with designing a DNA experiment that addresses challenges in space exploration and travel.
Finalists receive mentorship from Harvard and MIT scientists and present their proposals to win the grand prize. The Genes in Space winner will travel to the Kennedy Space Center to see their experiment launched into space, and actually conducted on the International Space Station.
18. Odyssey of the Mind
Type: Regional, State, and International
Students form teams to compete in a variety of STEM-based challenges during this global problem-solving competition, which culminates in the World Finals. Challenges change annually and can range from designing vehicles to building small structures that can support hundreds of pounds. These challenges are designed to encourage creativity in the performative and presentational elements of competition.
19. U.S. National Chemistry Olympiad
Type: Regional, National, International
Students interested in chemistry can participate in the USNCO, in which they’ll take rigorous exams to prove their skills in the field. Top test-takers will be selected to attend a prestigious Study Camp, where they’ll compete for the chance to represent the U.S. at the International Chemistry Olympiad. Interested students can contact their local coordinator, who can be found through the program’s website.
20. ArcGIS Online Competition
Type: Regional, State, and National
This competition tasks high schoolers with conducting a research project connected to their home state, and eventually presenting their data in an ArcGIS StoryMap. This is a multi-level competition–participants compete at the school, state, and national level as they pursue top honors.
21. AAPT High School Physics Photo Contest
Type: International
This unique international competition is presented by the American Association of Physics Teachers (AAPT) and challenges students to create visual illustrations of natural and contrived phenomena, along with a written analysis of what the images are demonstrating. More than 1,000 students take part in this competition annually.
22. DNA Day Essay Contest
This annual competition asks high schoolers from around the globe to examine, question, and reflect on important topics in genetics. The essay can be no longer than 750 words and the prompt changes yearly. First place takes home $1,000, second place $600, and third place $400.
23. The Biomimicry Institute: Youth Design Challenge
Through this science competition, students are introduced to biomimicry—an interdisciplinary approach to science and environmental literacy. Students work as teams with an adult coach to search for bio-inspired ideas to solve real-world problems in support of a healthier planet.
24. TEAMS (Tests of Engineering Aptitude, Mathematics, and Science)
During this aptly named competition, students must work in teams to apply their knowledge of math and science to real-world engineering challenges. The three-part, themed competition includes design/build, multiple choice, and essay components, and the theme changes annually.
Beyond the chance to win an award, participants build valuable, broadly applicable skills like teamwork, collaboration, communication, and critical thinking.
25. Eye on the Future Teen Video Contest
While not a research competition per se, aspiring scientists will want to look into this science-related competition. Participants are tasked with creating a video between 30 seconds and three minutes long, either on their own or in teams of up to three members. Students compete in three categories: science in your world, science in the field or lab, and science in the future.
Winners receive a $2,000 cash prize and a paid trip for them and a parent or guardian to visit the National Institute of Health in Bethesda, Maryland.
How Do Science Research Competitions Affect My Admissions Chances?
The influence your participation in science research competitions can have on your college admissions varies—considerations such as how well you performed and the prestige of the event factor into how admissions officers view the competition. That being said, the four tiers of extracurricular activities provide a good general guide for understanding how colleges view your activities outside the classroom.
The most esteemed and well-known science research competitions are organized into Tiers 1 and 2. Extracurricular activities in these categories are extremely rare, demonstrate exceptional achievement, and hold considerable sway with admissions officers. Tiers 3 and 4 are reserved for more modest accomplishments—like winning a regional (rather than a national) competition—and carry less weight at colleges than their higher-tiered counterparts.
Generally, participation in a science research competition will be considered at least a Tier 2 activity. As stated before, this varies depending on the competition and your performance. For example, being a finalist or winner in something like the Regeneron Science Talent Search or the International Biology Olympiad—prestigious national and international competitions—is very likely to be considered a Tier 1 achievement.
However, lower-tiered extracurriculars are still valuable, as they show colleges a more well-rounded picture of you as a student, and highlight your desire to pursue your interests outside of school.
Curious how your participation in science research competitions affects your odds of college admissions? Collegevine can help. Our free chancing calculator uses factors like grades, test scores, and extracurricular activities—like science research competitions— to calculate your chances of getting into hundreds of colleges across the country! You can even use the information provided to identify where you can improve your college profile and ultimately bolster your odds of getting into your dream school.
Disclaimer: This post includes content sponsored by Lumiere Education.
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The Oxford Scientist
The University of Oxford's independent science magazine
The Oxford Scientist Schools Competition 2024
We are excited to announce the details of the 2024 edition of The Oxford Scientist Schools Competition.
The deadline for schools to submit student essays is 10th July, 2024. You can find more information here .
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Essay Contest
Congratulations to the 2024 Essay Contest winners !
About the Contest
The Lasker Essay Contest engages early career scientists and clinicians from the US and around the globe in a discussion about big questions in biology and medicine and the role of biomedical research in our society today. The Contest aims to build skills in communicating important medical and scientific issues to broad audiences. The topic is announced annually in early February, and winners are announced in mid-July.
Eligibility
The Contest is open to medical school students, interns, residents, and fellows; doctoral students and postdoctoral fellows in biomedical sciences; and graduate students training in health professions programs e.g., public health, dental, pharmacy, etc who are currently doing research. Applicants (from the US or any other countries) must be currently participating in an educational program. This program may be located in any country.
Winners will receive up to $5,000. Monetary prizes will be directed to the winner’s university to be used towards the winner’s educational expenses.
Essays should be 800 words or less and must be written in English. We allow only one essay submission per applicant, and the essay must be written by a single author. The use of any generative AI tool (e.g. ChatGPT) in composing an entry is prohibited – all essays will be screened with software designed to detect use of AI. Essays need to be original; content previously published will be disqualified.The file containing the essay should include the essay title and the applicant’s name, email, and institutional affiliation. The 800-word limit applies to the body of the essay. Field-specific scientific jargon should be avoided or explained.
Evaluation Criteria
Essays will be evaluated based on their originality, quality of writing, style, and clarity. Essays that are not written in English or are longer than 800 words will not be considered.
Publication
The winning essays will be published in the July issue of The Journal of Clinical Investigation .
All Winners
Meet the Winners of the 2024 Essay Contest and Read the Essays
Meet the Winners of the 2023 Essay Contest and Read the Essays
Meet the Winners of the 2022 Lasker Essay Contest
The 2022 Lasker Essay Contest
Meet the Winners of the 2021 Lasker Essay Contest
The 2021 Lasker Essay Contest
Winners of the 2020 Lasker Essay Contest
Winners of the 2019 Lasker Essay Contest
Winners of the 2018 Essay Contest
Winners of the 2017 Essay Contest
Winners of the 2016 Essay Contest
Winners of 2015 Essay Contest: The “Research Challenge”
2014 Essay Contest: Supporting Medical Research
Read the winning essays.
Kevin S. Blake Missing microbiomes: global underrepresentation restricts who research will benefit
Catherine M. Bridges Illuminating maternal sepsis: a call for improved recognition and prevention
Andrea M. Maxwell What happens to the brain during pregnancy?
A Subashan Vadibeler The (unresolved) antibody paradox
Sarah Voss The enemy of my enemy is my friend
Allison R. Chen Research Training in an AI World
Louise O. Downs Is a Test Better Than No Test When There Is No Treatment?
Ayush Kumar Using HG1222 — A Perspective Into the Ethics of Collecting Biospecimens
Salman E. Qasim The Human Brain: The Final Frontier and the Wild West
Sneha P. Rath Cementing the Bricks
Kaelyn Cummins Microbes, Medicine, and Astronauts: Reflections on a Collaborative Project
Azmina Karukappadath Two Fields, One Dream
Hussain Lalani I Would Be Scared if I Heard That Too
Rutvij Merchant Pathways to Global Health Equity: More Seats, Fresh Perspectives
Kirti Nath Puzzles
Avik Ray Unified Diversity: The Team Game
Ziad Ali What Happens Now?
Banafsheh Nazari Embracing Technology, the Pandemic’s Lesson for Us
Trisha Pasricha One more question
Miriam Saffern My Mother is a Layperson
Adina Schonbrun The Cornerstone of Scientific Success: Unsung Frontline Heroes of the COVID-19 Pandemic
Emily Ashkin Michael Bishop: A Scientist for the Next Generation
David Basta For the Love of Science
Avash Das Michael Brown and Joseph Goldstein: Tribute to My Inspiration
William Dunn Sweet Are the Uses of Adversity
Safwan Elkhatib Salk, Sabin, and the Crown of Health
Laurel Gabler Putting “People’s Health in People’s Hands”: How the Bangs Inspired my Personal Journey
Kwabena Kusi-Mensah As One Single Tribe: Thinking Globally and Locally
Lisa Learman With the Corn, Against the Grain
Olivia Lucero Genetics as a Tool for Generational Empowerment
Hannah Mason My Gym Genie: Gathering Inspiration from Dr. John Schiller
Samantha Wong Fauci: Science as a Voice of Reason
Grace Beggs Game On: Smartphone Technology for Science Education
Peter John Making it All Fun and Games in the Biomedical Sciences
Dereck Paul Pathways: A National Mentorship Program for High School Students Underrepresented in Science and Medicine
David Hartmann Cancer Survivors: Outstanding Advocates for Trust in Science
Debra Karhson A Verification Vaccine for Social Contagion
Caroline Vissers Diversity at the Top of the Social Media Signaling Cascade
Abigail Cline Science and Cinema: From the Benchtop to the Big Screen
Tammy Tran Science Is Everywhere: Unexpected Science Encounters in the Course of Everyday Life
Michael Wu Search for Science: Smart Search-Linked Discussion Forums
Jennifer Bratburd Breaking through Barriers to Science with Citizen Science
Apurva Lunia Dissemination of Biomedical Research Via Multimedia Platforms Using Existing Healthcare Frameworks
Jessica Sagers Let’s Get Real: (Re)making Scientists Into People
David Ottenheimer Modern Neuroscience Has the Tools to Treat Psychiatric Illness
Therese Woodring (Korndorf) Hacking the Bacterial Social Network: Quorum Sensing and the Future of Microbial Management
Unikora Yang The Cutting Edge of DNA Editing: Translating CRISPR to Improve Human health
David Hill Mutual Understanding: Uncovering the Mechanistic Basis of the Host-Symbiont Relationship in Human Health
Joseph Rathkey In Silico Modeling as an Ideal Platform for Future Biological Research and Discovery
Stephanie Ng Depression and the Final Frontier
Omar Toubat Mastering the Genetic Reprogramming of Cells
Peter Soh Offering Incentives for Future Scientists
Michael Burel Catalyzing Broad Public Interest in Scientific Research
Nick Andresen Crowdsourcing a Medical Research Donation Database
Gregg Gonsalves Researchers as Advocates and Activists
Competitions
FQxI’s Competitions started in 2009 with the question, What is the nature of time?
The rules of the competition have changed over the years, including the addition of anonymous submissions this year, but the goals have stayed close to the original:
- Encourage and support rigorous, innovative, and influential thinking.
- Identify and reward top thinkers in foundational questions.
- Provide an arena for discussion and exchange of ideas regarding foundational questions.
Current Competition, open through May 3, 2023 :
How could science be different.
In this Competition, we invite creative and thought-provoking essays addressing science itself by considering the questions: To what degree is the science we have today necessarily the way it is versus contingent on the particular history and human societies in which it originated? What could a science free of prejudice and bigotry have looked like? What can it look like in the future? And how could the process of science be better ?
Accepting essays via Submittable.com through May 3, 2023, at 10 AM EDT.
2023 Competition Timeline
- January 18, 2023, Contest Announced
- February 15, 2023, Open to Submissions
- May 3, 2023, Submissions Close at 10 AM EDT
- May 24, 2023, Competition Rating Period Close at 10 AM EDT
- May 25, 2023 to July 11, 2023, Competition Judges Evaluation Period
- By July 12, 2023, Finalists Announced; Names Revealed
2023 Competition Details
Introduction to “How could science be different?”
Rules for the Competition
FAQs for the Competition
A listing of FQxI’s previous competitions and 1st Place Prize Winners:
Essay Competitions
Undecidability, uncomputability, and unpredictability (2019-2020).
For a brief time in history, it was possible to imagine that a sufficiently advanced intellect could, given sufficient time and resources, in principle, understand how to mathematically prove everything that was true. They could discern what math corresponds to physical laws and use those laws to predict anything that happens before it happens. That time has passed. Gödel’s undecidability results (the incompleteness theorems), Turing’s proof of non-computable values, the formulation of quantum theory, chaos, and other developments over the past century have shown that there are rigorous arguments limiting what we can prove, compute, and predict. While some connections between these results have come to light, many remain obscure, and the implications are unclear. Are there, for example, real consequences for physics — including quantum mechanics — of undecidability and non-computability? Are there implications for our understanding of the relations between agency, intelligence, mind, and the physical world?
1st Prize Winner: Klaas Landsman, “Undecidability and indeterminism”
Landsman is a professor of mathematical physics at Radboud University. He mainly works in mathematical physics, mathematics (notably non-commutative geometry), and foundations of physics.
Read the prize-winning essays.
Read all the essays.
This contest was possible due to support from Fetzer Franklin Fund and The Peter and Patricia Gruber Foundation .
What Is “Fundamental”? (2017-2018)
We have many different ways to talk about the things in the physical universe. Some of those ways we think of as more fundamental, and some as “emergent” or “effective”. But what does it mean to be more or less “fundamental”? Are fundamental things smaller, simpler, more elegant, more economical? Are less-fundamental things always made from more-fundamental? How do less-fundamental descriptions relate to more-fundamental ones?
1st Prize Winner: Emily Adlam, “Fundamental?”
Adlam is a postdoctoral associate at The Rotman Institute of Philosophy, Western University. Adlam’s research interests are in the foundations of quantum mechanics and the philosophy of physics.
Wandering Towards a Goal (2016-2017)
How can mindless mathematical laws give rise to aims and intentions?
One way to think of physics is as a set of mathematical laws of dynamics. These laws provide predictions by carrying conditions at one moment of time inexorably into the future. But many phenomena admit another description – sometimes a vastly more useful one – in terms of long-term, large-scale goals, aims, and intentions.
The motion of the most basic particle can be described by the action of forces moment by moment or as the attempt to extremize an action integral, calculated over the particle’s entire path throughout time. Many-body systems can seem hopelessly complex when looked at in terms of their constituents’ detailed dynamic motions, but neatly elegant when viewed as attempting to minimize energy or maximize entropy. Living systems efficiently organize their simplest components with the intricate aims of survival, reproduction, and other biological ends; and intelligent systems can employ a panoply of physical effects to accomplish many flexibly chosen goals.
How does this work? How do goal-oriented systems arise, and how do they exist and function in a world that we can describe in terms of goal-free mathematical evolution?
1st Prize Winner (three-way tie): Larissa Albantakis, “A Tale of Two Animats: What does it take to have goals?”
Larissa Albantakis is a scientist at the Wisconsin Institute for Sleep and Consciousness, at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. She has been there since 2012, working together with Giulio Tononi on Integrated Information Theory.
1st Prize Winner (three-way tie): Carlo Rovelli, “Meaning and Intentionality = Information + Evolution”
Carlo Rovelli is a theoretical physicist working at the University of Aix-Marseille in France. His main interest is in quantum gravity.
1st Prize Winner (three-way tie): Jochen Szangolies, “Von Neumann Minds: A Toy Model of Meaning in a Natural World”
Szangolies studied physics in Siegen and Düsseldorf. He has worked on the phenomena of quantum contextuality, the detection of quantum correlations, and their application in quantum information tasks.
This contest was possible due to support from The Peter and Patricia Gruber Foundation .
Trick or Truth (2014-2015)
The Mysterious Connection Between Physics and Mathematics
Why does math seem so “unreasonably” effective in fundamental physics, especially compared to math’s impact on other scientific disciplines? Or does it? How deeply does mathematics inform physics and physics mathematics? What are the tensions between them — the subtleties, ambiguities, hidden assumptions, or even contradictions and paradoxes at the intersection of formal mathematics and the physics of the real world?
1st Prize Winner: Sylvia Wenmackers, “Children of the Cosmos”
Wenmackers is a professor in the philosophy of science at KU Leuven (Belgium). She studied theoretical physics and obtained a Ph.D. in Physics (2008) as well as in Philosophy (2011). In her current project, she explores the foundations of physics, with a special interest in infinitesimals and probabilities.
This contest was possible due to support from The Peter and Patricia Gruber Foundation , Nanotronics Imaging , and John Templeton Foundation , with media partner Scientific American .
How Should Humanity Steer the Future? (2014)
Dystopic visions of the future are common in literature and film, while optimistic ones are rare. This contest encourages us to avoid potentially self-fulfilling prophecies of gloom and doom and to think hard about how to make the world better while avoiding potential catastrophes.
Our ever-deepening understanding of physics has enabled technologies and ways of thinking about our place in the world that have dramatically transformed humanity over the past several hundred years. Many of these changes have been difficult to predict or control—but not all.
In this contest, we ask how humanity should attempt to steer its own course in light of the radically different modes of thought and fundamentally new technologies that are becoming relevant in the coming decades.
1st Prize Winner: Sabine Hossenfelder, “How to save the world”
Hossenfelder is an assistant professor for high energy physics at Nordita in Stockholm, Sweden. She works on quantum gravity and physics beyond the standard model and blogs at backreaction.blogspot.com .
This contest was possible due to support from The Peter and Patricia Gruber Foundation , Future of Life and Jaan Tallinn, and John Templeton Foundation , with media partner Scientific American .
It From Bit or Bit From It (2013)
The past century in fundamental physics has shown a steady progression away from thinking about physics, at its deepest level, as a description of material objects and their interactions and towards physics as a description of the evolution of information about and in the physical world. Moreover, recent years have shown an explosion of interest at the nexus of physics and information, driven by the “information age” in which we live and, more importantly, by developments in quantum information theory and computer science.
We must ask the question, though, is information truly fundamental or not? Can we realize John Wheeler’s dream, or is it unattainable?
1st Prize Winner: Matthew Leifer, “‘It From Bit’ and the Quantum Probability Rule”
Leifer is currently an independent scientist living in London, UK. He has held postdoctoral positions at the Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics, the University of Cambridge, the University of Waterloo, and University College London. His research interests encompass the foundations of quantum theory, quantum information, and the intersection of the two.
This contest was possible due to support from The Peter and Patricia Gruber Foundation and John Templeton Foundation , with media partner Scientific American .
Questioning the Foundations (2012)
What assumptions are ripe for rethinking? Looking back over the history of physics we can identify a number of places where thinkers were “stuck” and had to let go of some cherished assumptions to make progress. Often this was forced by experiment, an internal inconsistency in accepted physics, or simply a particular philosophical intuition. What are the tacit or explicit assumptions we are making now that are ripe for re-thinking?
1st Prize Winner: Robert Spekkens, “The paradigm of kinematics and dynamics must yield to causal structure”
Robert Spekkens is a faculty member at the Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics in Waterloo, Canada. His area of research is the foundations of quantum theory.
This contest was possible due to support from The Peter and Patricia Gruber Foundation and Submeta , with media partner Scientific American .
Is Reality Digital or Analog? (2011-2012)
While classical physics – as well as the mathematics of calculus at its foundation – is based on real numbers with a continuous set of values, quantum mechanics indicates that certain physical quantities can take only a countable set of discrete values. Consequently, many current approaches to foundational questions in physics and cosmology advocate novel discrete or “digital” pictures of nature. This essay contest asks, then: is Nature fundamentally continuous or discrete, and how can these two different but very useful conceptions be fully reconciled?
1st Prize Winner: Jarmo Makela “Is Reality Digital or Analog?”
Makela did a post-doc in the Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics of the University of Cambridge. Since the year 2000, Makela has worked as a Senior Lecturer of mathematics and physics at the Vaasa University of Applied Sciences located in Vaasa, Finland.
This contest was possible due to support from The Peter and Patricia Gruber Foundation , with media partner Scientific American .
What’s Ultimately Possible in Physics? (2009)
More specifically, to quote, “Essays in this competition will explore the limits of physics and the physics of limits. Appropriate topics are those such as, but not limited to: What are the limits of physics’ explanatory and predictive power? What does this tell us about the world? What technologies are fundamentally forbidden, or may ultimately be allowed, by physics? What role do ‘impossibility’ principles or other limits (e.g., sub-lightspeed signaling, Heisenberg uncertainty, cosmic censorship, the second law of thermodynamics, the holographic principle, computational limits, etc.) play in foundational physics and cosmology?”
1st Prize Winner: Louis Crane, “Stardrives and Spinoza”
Crane did a postdoc at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton and was an Assistant Professor at Yale University. He then joined the Mathematics department at Kansas State University, where he has remained to this day, except for visits to Nottingham University, Universite de Paris VII (Diderot), The University of Western Ontario, and Instituto Superior Tecnico in Lisboa, Portugal. His research is on quantum gravity.
This contest was possible due to support from Astrid and Bruce McWilliams.
The Nature of Time (2008-2009)
Time is central to human experience, but when closely examined raises a set of subtle and baffling questions that have perplexed philosophers, scientists, theologians, and other thinkers throughout history. What is the “present” moment, and why does it “move”? Is the future free or already determined as the past appears to be? Why is the future different from the past? Does time even exist, or is it merely a construct of our world description?
As a central feature of the natural world, time also lies at the nexus of many foundational questions in physics and cosmology. Did the universe have a beginning (of time) and an end? And what precisely do those questions mean? In what ways is the world deterministic, and in what ways is it not? How does the ‘arrow of time’ arise from time-symmetric fundamental physical laws? Is understanding time the primary obstacle to understanding how to reconcile general relativity and quantum mechanics?
1st Prize Winner: Julian Barbour, “The Nature of Time”
After completing a Ph.D. in theoretical physics, Barbour became an independent researcher. He wished to study fundamental issues and avoid the publish-or-perish syndrome. For forty years, he has worked on the nature of time and motion and has published numerous papers . He is a Visiting Professor in Physics at the University of Oxford.
Video Competition
Show me the physics (2014).
One of our goals at FQxI is to get people talking and wondering about the fascinating and confusing foundational physics research we support. We also want to be a point of connection between the researchers and teachers and everyone else who has an interest in physics. This competition aims to get people around the world excited about studying physics, with the hope that some of them go on to make their own physics discoveries.
1st Prize Winner (three-way tie): Dagomir Kaszlikowski, “Seeing without Looking”
Kaszlikowski is a quantum physicist who spends his spare time making short movies.
1st Prize Winner (three-way tie): Marc Séguin, “One Physics To Rule Them All (This Is Physics, part 1)”
Séguin has a master’s degree in Astronomy and another in History of Science from Harvard University. He teaches Astrophysics and Physics at Collège de Maisonneuve in Montréal and is the author of several textbooks.
1st Prize Winner (three-way tie): Xiangjun Shi, “Why Do I Study Physics?”
Shixie is an independent motion graphics designer based in New York City. Being an immigrant since a tender age, and having lived in China, the UK, Singapore, and now the US, Shixie is determined to break down the communication barriers between people through her works, across cultures or academic fields. Shixie is versatile with a variety of animation techniques, ranging from classical hand drawn to 3D, and has done work for clients including Google, Daptone Record, Adult Swim, PBS, CNBC, and Sundance.
Watch the prize-winning videos.
Watch all the videos.
This contest was possible due to support from The Peter and Patricia Gruber Foundation and John Templeton Foundation .
Please note all prize winner bios shared here and on the winners’ pages are taken from the year they won the contest.
competitions in numbers
US$470,000 AWARDED in prizes
11 Competitions
2100 eligible Entries posted
190 Competition Winners
Peterhouse Kelvin Biological Sciences Essay Competition
The Peterhouse Kelvin Biological Sciences Essay Competition aims to give students the opportunity to explore scientific concepts and topics beyond the classroom, and to engage with scientific research.
**The 2024 Peterhouse Kelvin Biological Sciences Essay Competition has now closed.
You can see the information about the competition below.
To read a selection of the winning essays from 2024, please click here .
We will publish information about next year's competition in early 2025.**
Who can take part?
The Kelvin Biological Sciences Essay Competition is open to students in their penultimate year of study (Year 12 in England and Wales, S5 in Scotland, Year 13 in Northern Ireland, or equivalent) who are educated in the United Kingdom and Ireland.
Please make sure that you have read the submission guidelines and FAQs sections carefully before entering.
Submission Guidelines
Your essay should be no more than 2,000 words including footnotes and appendices on one of the four questions listed below. You should include a bibliography and ensure that all sources are referenced. The bibliography is excluded from the word limit. We know that not all students will be familiar with referencing, so you might find the following page from the University which includes a Guide to Harvard Referencing helpful ( https://libguides.cam.ac.uk/Official-Publications/referencing ) . Any other standard system of referencing style is also acceptable. Please note that all work should be your own, should not be produced by Artificial Intelligence, and should not include any work that has been or will be submitted to an exam board as part of your studies. The main focus of your essay should not be material previously or currently being studied as part of your school courses.
There is a maximum of four entries per school, preferably across the range of questions. Please note that this limit does not apply to Sixth Form Colleges where year groups are over 1000 students in size. All entries must be approved by a teacher, so please make sure a teacher at your school knows that you are entering. On the submission form you will be asked to provide a name and contact information for the teacher who will be supporting your application. If more than four entries are submitted by one school, we will contact the referees at this school to let us know which submissions are to be considered. Schools with lots of potential entrants may wish to run their own internal competition before the chosen answers are submitted to us for consideration.
We are unable to consider any essays which have not been submitted by the deadline.
Your essay must be submitted as a PDF. Please ensure that all pages in your essay are numbered, and that your name and school appears clearly on the first page. You should name your PDF file in the following format: Question number-Surname-First Initial e.g. Q2-Smith-T. Your teacher will then receive an email from Peterhouse asking them to confirm that you are eligible and that your essay complies with our guidelines.
Kelvin Biological Sciences Essay Competition Questions – 2024
- Why do duckbill platypuses fluoresce under UV light?
- Mitochondria are always shown as ovals; in reality they come in all sorts of shapes and sizes. Why?
- Why are there so few venomous mammals and no birds, whereas there are so many venomous reptiles?
- Reintroduction of ecosystem engineers (e.g. beavers) can have major impacts on the environment. What species would you reintroduce (or introduce) to the British Isles and why has this not been done already?
Can I answer more than one of the four questions for the 2024 Kelvin Essay Competition?
We ask that students only submit one essay per person.
Can I make any changes once I have submitted my essay using the above form?
Please note that once you have submitted your entry it is not possible to make any changes – please ensure you are happy with your work before pressing ‘submit’.
Will I receive feedback on my essay?
Unfortunately, due to the high volume of submissions, it is not possible to provide feedback on individual essays.
Why do I need to include contact information for a teacher at my school, and who should this be?
After you submit your essay we get in touch with a contact at your school so that they can confirm you are eligible for the competition, and that the essay is your own work. This can be any teacher at your school who knows you, for example, the Head of Biology, one of your subject teachers, your form tutor, or your Head of Year.
The competition has a prize pool of £750, which will be shared between the winners. Winners will be contacted by email - please make sure your contact details are entered correctly! A prizegiving ceremony will be held in Cambridge in the summer.
If you have any further questions relating to the competition, please email us at [email protected] .
The Annual International Berkeley Undergraduate Prize for Architectural Design Excellence 2022 | |
permitted to team with another architecture student. , but graduate before the awards are scheduled to be given. This year you are asked to include TWO digital photographs that you have copied from any of this year's posted topic Reources or similarr resources that has influenced your Proposal. One of the photographs should help support the argument you make in your Proposal as to an issue you believe needs to addressed in providing housing for the disadvantaged. The other photograph should help support the argument you make for the proposed response. A brief caption - 50 words maximum - should accompany the photograph telling us what the photo represents and the source of the photograph. Please post the photograph at a minimum 500 pixels wide, and in .jpg format. No more than two photographs will be accepted. NOTE: The Readers are instructed not to add or detract points from their evaluation because of the quality of the photograph itself, nor whether it is the students' work or an archival photograph. The Readers, however, will evaluate how the photographs help support the argument you have made in your Proposal. Judging for the essay competition is on a numeric system. The members of the BERKELEY PRIZE Committee are asked to evaluate each essay in terms of the following criteria: Each criterion is given a score of 1 to 5 (5 being the highest). The approximately 25-28 top-scoring Proposals become Semifinalists, who will be offered the opportunity to write a 2500-word Essay based on the Proposal.. There is a total prize of 35,000USD, minimum 8,500USD first prize. The remaining purse is to be allocated at the discretion of the Jury.
By submitting your essay, you give the Berkeley Prize the nonexclusive, perpetual right to reproduce the essay or any part of the essay, in any and all media at the Berkeley Prize’s discretion. A “nonexclusive” right means you are not restricted from publishing your paper elsewhere if you use the following attribution that must appear in that new placement: “First submitted to and/or published by the international Berkeley Undergraduate Prize for Architectural Design Excellence ( www.BerkeleyPrize.org ) in competition year 20(--) (and if applicable) and winner of that year’s (First, Second, Third…) Essay prize.” Finally, you warrant the essay does not violate any intellectual property rights of others and indemnify the BERKELEY PRIZE against any costs, loss, or expense arising out of a violation of this warranty. Registration and SubmissionYou (and your teammate if you have one) will be asked to complete a short registration form which will not be seen by members of the Berkeley Prize Committee or Jury. REGISTER HERE. Additional Help and Information
home about us what we do initiatives essay competition news & views International Organization for Chemical Sciences in Development ⇑ Global Essay Competition 2024 Essay CompetitionCall for essays. In November 2023, IOCD launched the second year of its annual essay competition on the role of the chemical sciences in sustainability, in collaboration with the Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC). See here . The competition is open globally to entrants under 35 years of age on the closing date of 31 March 2024 . The theme for the 2024 competition is: How can the chemical sciences contribute to ‘decarbonizing’ the production of energy and to eliminating the generation or release of greenhouse gasses from large-scale manufacturing and agricultural processes? Essays will be grouped into seven regions for the selection of winners, based on the entrant’s country of normal residence. Each regional winner will receive a prize of US$500 and their entries will be published in RSC Sustainability . The shortlisted essays selected as Finalists will be collected in an annual compendium, Young Voices in the Chemical Sciences for Sustainability, published as a PDF online and available on IOCD’s website . Individual shortlisted entries will also be featured from time to time on IOCD’s website. See here for the 2023 regional winners and finalists. The seven regional groupings are:
Broad flexibility will be applied in assessing the approach taken by entrants to framing the theme. Essays will be judged on how well they highlight the importance of scientific approaches grounded in the chemical sciences for solving sustainability challenges. Entrants are encouraged to take a wide, global perspective, including reflecting on the intersection of science, society and policy aspects, rather than to describe a particular scientific advance in great technical detail. Entrants should create their own title for their essay, related to the theme set. Essays must not exceed 1500 words of main text. The following downloads are available:
Call for Volunteer EvaluatorsIOCD invites volunteers from around the world to assist in the evaluation of the entries for the 2024 competition. Volunteers should have a postgraduate degree/experience in a field related to the role of the chemical sciences in sustainable development (whether in education, research or industry) and be willing to undertake scoring according to set criteria and commenting qualitatively on up to 20 essays during the period March-May 2024. Every volunteer will receive a Certificate acknowledging their contribution to the competition. IOCD is seeking more evaluators. An application form to register as a volunteer can be downloaded here . Organisation Internationale des Sciences Chimiques pour le Développement 61 Rue de Bruxelles B 5000 Namur Belgium Some images of this website were freely downloaded from pexels.com , the others are from IOCD collections except when otherwise stated Website hosting graciously donated by Hurricane Electric Quick links: home site map support contact us legal notice © 2024 www.iocd.org
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Age: 13-15. Registration opens: now open. Competition dates: 1-17 May 2024. The Biology Challenge is a fun, annual competition open to students aged 13-15 in the UK. The challenge compromises of two, 25-minute, multiple-choice papers, and students need to complete both papers to be considered for an award category.
The Scientific Teen STEM Essay contest is proudly sponsored by Crimson Education.. Crimson Education is the world's leading US/UK university admissions consultancy. They have a personalised data-driven approach that has helped thousands of students gain admission into the Ivy League, Oxbridge, and other top universities.
More than 1,000 students take part in this competition annually. 22. DNA Day Essay Contest Grades: 9-12. Type: International This annual competition asks high schoolers from around the globe to examine, question, and reflect on important topics in genetics. The essay can be no longer than 750 words and the prompt changes yearly.
The Oxford Scientist May 5, 2024 01 mins. We are excited to announce the details of the 2024 edition of The Oxford Scientist Schools Competition. The deadline for schools to submit student essays is 10th July, 2024. You can find more information here. Tagged: schools competition.
The Lasker Essay Contest engages early career scientists and clinicians from the US and around the globe in a discussion about big questions in biology and medicine and the role of biomedical research in our society today. The Contest aims to build skills in communicating important medical and scientific issues to broad audiences.
Current Competition, open through May 3, 2023: How could science be different? In this Competition, we invite creative and thought-provoking essays addressing science itself by considering the questions: To what degree is the science we have today necessarily the way it is versus contingent on the particular history and human societies in which it originated?
The Peterhouse Kelvin Biological Sciences Essay Competition aims to give students the opportunity to explore scientific concepts and topics beyond the classroom, and to engage with scientific research. **The 2024 Peterhouse Kelvin Biological Sciences Essay Competition has now closed. You can see the information about the competition below.
Peterhouse College, Cambridge's Kelvin Science Prize. The Kelvin Science Essay Competition is open to students in their penultimate year of study (Year 12 in England and Wales, S5 in Scotland, Year 13 in Northern Ireland, or equivalent) who are educated in the United Kingdom and Ireland. Please find attached the questions for this years ...
February 1, 2022. (Stage Two) Essay Semifinalists' 2,500-word essays due. February 8, 2022. Launch of Community Service Fellowship Competition for Essay Semifinalists. Early-March, 2022. Essay Finalists announced. March 12, 2022. Community Service Fellowship proposals due. Mid-April, 2022.
In November 2023, IOCD launched the second year of its annual essay competition on the role of the chemical sciences in sustainability, in collaboration with the Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC). See here. The competition is open globally to entrants under 35 years of age on the closing date of 31 March 2024. The theme for the 2024 competition is:
The DuPont Challenge Science Essay Competition invites students to write a 700 to 1,000 word essay that discusses a scientific discovery, theory, event, or technology application in which the writer finds particular interest. As one of the leading student science and technology prize programs, the DuPont Challenge has recognized thousands of ...
Entangled in a Quantum Future. 1st Place Winner, Yale Scientific Magazine National Essay Competition 2019. Kelvin Kim. Bergen Catholic High School, Oradell, NJ. The rate of discovery in science has accelerated dramatically since the 20th century. This should not be surprising since our knowledge base doubles approximately every 13 months.
Academic conference: 20 - 22 September, 2024. Awards dinner: 21 September, 2024. Contact. Any queries regarding the essay competition should be sent to [email protected]. Please be aware that, due to the large volume of correspondence we receive, we cannot guarantee to answer every query.
The Harvard Crimson Global Essay Competition provides a platform for young, ambitious high school students to exercise their writing skills and compete with students from all over the world! This competition encourages students to challenge themselves and explore different writing styles to ultimately strengthen their writing skills.
The Essay Competition allows SECME coordinators to reinforce STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) skills through writing. Students will choose between a non-fiction or science-fiction topic to write an original essay. Students will write an original essay and provide a Works Cited page. >>>>>> Essay Guideline for High School ...
The BSCB Science Writing Prize was launched in 2009 to encourage and reward high quality writing on topics of key relevance to cell biology. Entrants have either communicated their own research projects or science stories in the literature, in a clear and concise way aimed at a non-specialist audience, or written essays that were not be limited ...
Discourse, debate, and analysis Cambridge Re:think Essay Competition 2024 This year, CCIR saw over 4,200 submissions from more than 50 countries. Of these 4,200 essays, our jury panel, consists of scholars across the Atlantic, selected approximately 350 Honourable Mention students, and 33 award winners. The mission of the Re:think essay competition has always been to encourage critical […]
Nature is launching an essay competition for readers aged 18 to 25. We invite you to tell us, in an essay of no more than 1,000 words, what scientific advance, big or small, you would most like to ...
As radioisotopes power the Perseverance rover to explore Mars, perseverance "powered" three winners to write essays each year till they achieved their mission goal of winning NASA's Power to Explore Challenge.These students explored behind the scenes at NASA's Glenn Research Center and Great Lakes Science Center (GLSC) in Cleveland after writing the top essays in the national contest.
Genres: Crime, Essay, Fantasy, Fiction, Horror, Humor, Memoir, Mystery, Non-fiction, Novella, Poetry, Romance, Science Fiction, Science Writing, Short Story, Thriller, and Young Adult The Letter Review Prize for Books is open to writers from anywhere in the world. Seeking most unpublished (we accept some self/indie published) novels, novellas, story collections, nonfiction, poetry etc. 20 ...
The Minds Underground™ STEM Essay Competition is aimed at students in Year 12 (though we welcome younger applicants). We have split the Sciences into numerous scientific fields and will select a winner from each: Maths, Biology, Chemistry, Physics and Computer Science.The competition provides students with an opportunity to attempt university-level research, hone their scientific writing ...
Our Prize Essay Competition. May 1896 Issue. The Sciences. 0 0. This article was originally published with the title "Our Prize Essay Competition" in Scientific American Magazine Vol. 74 No ...
LSRT SCIENTIFIC ESSAY. Scientific Essay Rules and Regulations LSRT-COMPETITIVE-ESSAY-RULES. Scientific Essay Scoring Rubric . 2024 Scientific Essay Application
Brain. 2023 essay competition. The response to our inaugural essay competition last year was remarkable. The impressive quality of submissions and diversity of subjects considered by the authors—who included researchers, clinicians, patients, carers, as well as people who have no immediate link to neurology—was extraordinary.
Sophia won $500 for her grand prize-winning essay. Mitchell Collins, a junior political science major, wrote the second-place essay. Mitchell wrote about his chaotic life as the son of a "soldier father" who moved the family from place to place far too quickly to learn how to develop friendships.