Science Bowl Partnerships Set Stage for STEM Students and Workforce

A team of Centennial High School students outlasted 18 others to win the regional competition of the 2023 National Science Bowl^® (NSB). The Maryland/DC Regionals are held annually at Montgomery College’s Rockville Campus. The winning team, from Howard County, will represent the region during the National Science Bowl Finals in Washington, D.C., April 27 to May 1, 2023, hosted by the United States Department of Energy (DOE).

Montgomery County Public Schools teams from Blair High School placed second and third, while a team from Poolesville High School rounded out the top four. A team from Blair won last year’s regional competition, advancing to the national finals, ultimately finishing seventh.

“The National Science Bowl^® is an extraordinary competition that brings together young minds across America through science and technology,” said Asmeret Asefaw Berhe, director of DOE’s Office of Science. “I would like to congratulate the Centennial High School team as they advance to the National Finals. Good luck to you, our future scientists, visionaries, and leaders.”

WGL/Washington Gas, which serves more than one million customers in the D.C., Maryland, and Virginia area, sponsored the event for its 11th straight year. QIAGEN, a Germantown, Maryland-based biotechnology company, also returned as an event sponsor. Both companies will sponsor the Maryland/DC Regional Middle School Science Bowl at Montgomery College on March 11.

“Hosting these annual competitions demonstrates the College’s commitment to not only showcasing the immense talent of our regional high school students, but also generating excitement for those who are exploring or pursuing one of the many STEM-based disciplines,” said Dr. Muhammad Kehnemouyi, interim vice president and provost of the Germantown Campus and STEM unit, delivered the opening remarks.

The NSB brings together thousands of middle and high school students from across the country to compete in a fast-paced question-and-answer format in which they solve technical problems and answer questions on a range of science disciplines including biology, chemistry, Earth and space sciences, physics, and math.

The top two middle and high school teams will win $5,000 for their schools’ math and science departments. Teams placing in the top 16 in the National Finals will win $1,000 for their schools’ science departments. But to many participants, the ultimate prize is the prestige of winning the National Championship.

“MC is proud to encourage the growth and development of budding engineers, biotechnologists, data analysts, and students whose passion will inevitably drive innovation and future success,” Dean Kehnemouyi.

Today, the NSB annually draws more than 14,000 middle and high school competitors from large and small schools—in urban and rural settings. Since the first competition in 1991, approximately 335,000 students have faced off in the National Science Bowl^® Finals. The knowledge former competitors have acquired and, more importantly, the collaborative skills and study habits that they learned along the way, have led them to successes in a variety of fields. Many have become researchers; others are science and math professors.

The 2023 competitors will follow in the footsteps of previous National Science Bowl^® contestants and will blaze a trail for students in science, math, and engineering. Each team is composed of four students, one alternate, and a teacher who serves as an advisor and coach.

The Department of Energy’s Office of Science manages the National Science Bowl^® and sponsors the finals competition. DOE’s Office of Science is the single largest supporter of basic research in the physical sciences in the U.S. and is working to address some of the most pressing challenges of our time.

For more information, please visit https://www.energy.gov/science.