DENVER – Honey Creek Middle School from Terre Haute, Ind. won its second straight championship at the 2007 U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) National Science Bowl® for Middle School Students today at the University of Denver. Honey Creek beat Challenger School from Newark, Calif. in the national championship match. Teams representing 30 middle schools from across the United States competed in the National Finals.

Members of the winning team include brothers Joseph and Mark Botros, Michael Mardini, Ian Francis, Julie Bittar and coaches Carol Tolin and Robert Fischer. The team also won $200 gift certificates for each student and three computer labs from Texas Instruments for its school’s science department. The answer that clinched the championship was in response to an earth science question about oceanography.

“Congratulations to Honey Creek Middle School for their victory in the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Science Bowl for Middle School Students,” Secretary of Energy Samuel W. Bodman said.  “Middle school is the time when young people begin to develop an interest in math and science and academic competitions are critical to nurturing that interest.  I view these students as America’s next generation of scientists and engineers and look forward to seeing many more exciting developments from them in the future.”

To ensure that today’s brightest students become tomorrow’s scientific leaders, President Bush announced the American Competitiveness Initiative (ACI) in 2006.  This initiative increases investment in research and development, strengthens science and math education, and encourages entrepreneurship and technology discovery.  DOE’s National Science Bowl exemplifies how children who are engaged, encouraged and equipped with proper resources can succeed academically.  The goal of the ACI – and the National Science Bowl – is to invest in our next generation of scientists, engineers and educators so America can continue to successfully compete in the 21st century global marketplace.

The ACI supports educational activities, such as the DOE National Science Bowl, in an effort to excite more middle and high school students to take mathematics and science classes.

More than 100 students competed in this weekend’s National Finals. Earlier this spring, more than 5,000 students from across the country participated in regional Science Bowls for middle school students. The winners of the regional middle school Science Bowls received all-expense paid trips to compete in the National Finals in Denver. DOE recognizes all the students who competed as true math and science stars, representing the nation’s next generation of scientists and engineers.

DOE created the National Science Bowl in 1991 to encourage high school students to excel in math and science and to pursue careers in these fields. In 2002, DOE started a similar competition for middle school students.  DOE supports mathematics and science education to help provide a technically trained and diverse workforce for the nation. More than 100,000 students have participated in both competitions of the National Science Bowl since 1991.

Placing second in the DOE National Science Bowl for middle school students was Challenger School from Newark, Calif. Team members are Tanay Kothari, Nikhil Desai, Arun Pingali, Aditya Limaye and coaches Raji Pingali and Dipty Desai.  This team won $150 gift certificates for each student and two computer labs from Texas Instruments.

The third place team was Longfellow Middle School from Falls Church, Va,, including and students In Young Cho, Sin Kim, Rohan Ramnath, Xavier Ferrier, Thalia Aoki and coach Scott VanBenschoten. This team’s prizes included $100 gift certificates for each student and a computer lab from Texas Instruments.

This year’s corporate sponsors were General Motors and Texas Instruments.

On Friday, June 22, St. Andrews Episcopal School from Amarillo, Texas won first place in the Hydrogen Fuel Cell Model Car Challenge sponsored by General Motors.

The DOE Office of Science manages the DOE National Science Bowl. The Office of Science is the principal supporter of DOE’s world-class national laboratory system that will lead the way in innovations including high-end computing, nanotechnology, biotechnology, energy sources, and other material science research.

A photo of the winning team and more information aare available at the DOE National Science Bowl.

Media contact(s):
Matt Simmons: (202) 538-9874