Team Earns Spot in National Finals

WASHINGTON, D.C.—Rep. Anna G. Eshoo (D-Palo Alto) congratulated Palo Alto High School today for winning the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory Regional High School Science Bowl on Saturday. Palo Alto High School competed against 20 other teams from across the region in one of the nation's regional competitions of the 23rd Annual U.S. Department of Energy National Science Bowl, and is now eligible to compete in the National Finals in Washington, D.C. at the end of April. The National Science Bowl brings together thousands of middle and high school students from across the country to compete in a range of science disciplines, including biology, chemistry, earth science, physics, astronomy and math.

"Bravo to Palo Alto High School's National Science Bowl Team!" Rep. Eshoo said. "At a time when America faces a critical shortage of workforce skills in science, technology, engineering and math, the curiosity and competitiveness of these Palo Alto High School students breathes new hope into our future global competitiveness."

Background

The Department of Energy (DOE) 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 200,000 students have participated in the National Science Bowl throughout its 22 year history, and it is the nation's largest science competition.

Over the next several months, more than 9,000 high school students and 5,000 middle school students will compete in 70 high school and 48 middle school regional Science Bowl tournaments. Students, in teams of four or five, compete in a fast-paced Jeopardy-style format where they solve technical problems and answer questions in all branches of science and math. Most teams are coached by teachers from the students' schools and spend several months preparing for the regional competitions. Many states have one regional or statewide Science Bowl competition, while larger states, such as California, hold several regional competitions across their states.

Students from Palo Alto High School will be awarded an all-expense paid trip to the National Finals in Washington, D.C., which are scheduled for April 25-29, 2013. The regional tournaments, which host 15-50 teams, are sponsored by federal agencies, national laboratories, institutions of education, and non-profit organizations.

DOE's Office of Science manages the competition. More information about these events is available on the National Science Bowl website: http://www.science.energy.gov/nsb/.

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