DENTON (UNT), Texas – Nine students from the Texas Academy of Mathematics and Science at the University of North Texas have been named semifinalists in the prestigious Intel Science Talent Search.

TAMS tied for fourth among all schools in the nation for the most semifinalists from a single school. Only six other schools in Texas had semifinalists, and each of those schools only had one. Three hundred high school seniors are named finalists in the competition each year. This year there were more than 1,800 applicants.

The Intel Science Talent Search is the oldest and one of the most prestigious science competitions for high school students. Each semifinalist receives $1,000, and an additional $1,000 is given to each student's school. Forty finalists will be named on Jan. 25. The finalists will receive an all-expenses-paid trip to Washington, D.C., from March 8-13 to compete for more than $630,000 in awards. The top award is $100,000; the remaining top 10 will receive awards totaling $305,000.

TAMS has had more than 40 Intel semifinalists and more than a half dozen Intel finalists since 2003. TAMS is a two-year residential program that allows exceptionally talented students to complete their freshman and sophomore years of college while receiving the equivalent of high school diplomas. Students enroll in the academy following their sophomore year in high school, live in a UNT residence hall and attend UNT classes with college students. After two years, they enroll at UNT or another university to finish their bachelor's degrees.

The Intel Science Talent Search 2012 semifinalists from TAMS are:

• Favyen Bastani, of Plano, for Compositional Genetic Algorithm for Multi-Objective Composition-Based Optimization Problems
• Kurtis Carsch, of Plano, for DFT Modeling of a Methane-to-Methanol Oxy-Insertion Catalytic Cycle via Group 6 Organometallics: A Computational Analysis
• Mitchell Powell, of Plano, for Determining Optimal Density Functional Theory Methods for Transition-Metal Thermochemistry
• Amanda Quay, of Austin, for Utilizing Predictive Fields of Space for Organic Compound Solubilities to Analyze Toxicology of Pharmaceuticals
• Adam Su, of Katy, for Rank-Generating Functions for the Distributive Lattice of Order Ideals for Comb Posets
• Lisa Su, of Grapevine, for Polymeric Sealants for the Improvement of Effectiveness of Thermoelectric Power Generation
• Alan Zhao, of Plano, for Fabrication and Characterization of Thermoplastic Vulcanized Elastomer Composites with Recycled Wood
• Michael Zhou, of Stafford, for Basis Set Reconstruction for Quantum Mechanics: Towards Computational Cost Reduction
• Jonathan Zhu, of Plano, Electronic Structure and Potential Energies of Transition Metal Tetrahalides