Students in Pursuit of Math & Science Challenges Honored with 2007-08 Siemens Awards for Advanced Placement

ISELIN, N.J., Feb. 21 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The top performing American high school students in Advanced Placement science and math courses were honored today with the announcement of the 10th Annual 2007-08 Siemens Awards for Advanced Placement. Ninety-seven students in 50 states, including 85 high school seniors and 12 high school juniors were named winners. Students who take AP math and science courses challenge themselves at the highest level and gain an edge for their first year of college.

Each student will receive a $2,000 college scholarship from the Siemens Foundation, a national leader in math and science education. The Siemens Awards for Advanced Placement also recognize math, science and technology teachers in each of the 50 states, as well as high schools in each state that have made significant strides in AP.

Two additional national student winners, one male and one female, are awarded a $5,000 scholarship. This year's winners are Tianhui Cai, a senior at Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology in Alexandria, VA and Ashutosh Singhal, a senior at Holmdel High School in Holmdel, NJ. One Siemens National AP Teacher of the Year wins a $5,000 award for dedication to the AP Program both inside and outside the classroom -- this year's recipient is Penny Smeltzer, an AP Statistics teacher at Westwood High School in Austin, TX.

"We celebrate our 10th year of the Siemens Awards for Advanced Placement in partnership with the College Board at a time when math and science education is most vital in the United States," said James Whaley, president of the New Jersey based Siemens Foundation. "At Siemens we understand that an investment in our nation's future begins with investing resources in the lives of students, teachers and high schools who will inspire our next generation of innovators."

The $300,000 program was first established in 1998 and is one of five Siemens Foundation programs that support math and science education from grade school through graduate school.

"We are proud to partner with the Siemens Foundation in honoring these students who have excelled in college-level study while still in high school. Our partnership extends to the committed teachers who are the heart and soul of the AP Program and to the high schools that have provided students the opportunity to reach this outstanding level of achievement," said College Board President Gaston Caperton. "In a world of increasing global competition, it is essential that we develop the means to excel. The Siemens winners are setting an example for others throughout the country."

Student Winners

Up to 100 students (potentially one female and one male in each state) receive a $2,000 college scholarship for earning the greatest number of grades of 5 on the following AP courses: Biology, Calculus BC, Chemistry, Computer Science AB, Environmental Science, Physics C: Electricity and Magnetism, Physics C: Mechanics, and Statistics. Students must obtain a grade of 5 on at least two of these exams to qualify. Two national winners (one male and one female with greatest number of grades of 5) are awarded a $5,000 college scholarship.

Teacher & School Winners

The Siemens Foundation honors winning high school math and science teachers with a $1,000 award. One Siemens National AP Teacher of the Year wins a $5,000 award. Teachers with a minimum of five years of teaching experience in math, science or technology AP courses are selected for their exemplary teaching and enthusiastic dedication to students and the AP Program.

One high school per state is selected in recognition of its commitment to students and leadership in AP participation and performance. Schools receive a $1,000 grant awarded from the Siemens Foundation to be used to support math and science education.

The Siemens Foundation

Established in 1998, the Siemens Foundation provides more than $2 million in college scholarships and awards each year for talented high school students in the United States. Based in Iselin, New Jersey, the Foundation's signature programs-the Siemens Competition in Math, Science & Technology, the Siemens Awards for Advanced Placement, and the Siemens Teacher Scholarships-recognize exceptional achievement in science, math, and technology. By supporting outstanding students today, and recognizing the teachers and schools that inspire their excellence, the Foundation helps nurture tomorrow's scientists and engineers. The Foundation's mission is based on the culture of innovation, research, and educational support that is the hallmark of Siemens' U.S. operating companies and its parent company, Siemens AG. For more information, visit www.siemens-foundation.org.

The College Board

The College Board is a not-for-profit membership association whose mission is to connect students to college success and opportunity. Founded in 1900, the association is composed of more than 5,400 schools, colleges, universities, and other educational organizations. Each year, the College Board serves seven million students and their parents, 23,000 high schools, and 3,500 colleges through major programs and services in college admissions, guidance, assessment, financial aid, enrollment, and teaching and learning. Among its best-known programs are the SAT(R), the PSAT/NMSQT(R), and the Advanced Placement Program(R) (AP(R)). The College Board is committed to the principles of excellence and equity, and that commitment is embodied in all of its programs, services, activities, and concerns.

2007-08 Siemens Awards for Advanced Placement

All winners' names will be spotlighted in the February 25, 2008 edition of USA Today.

    Student National Winners:
    Tianhui Cai, Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology,
     Alexandria, VA
    Ashutosh Singhal, Holmdel High School, Holmdel, NJ


    Student State Winners:
    Alexandra Epps, Briarwood Christian High School, Birmingham, AL
    Varun Krishnan, The Altamont School, Birmingham, AL
    Isabel Bush, Juneau-Douglas High School, Juneau, AK
    Jae Chung, A. J. Dimond High School, Anchorage, AK
    Anatola He, Chaparral High School, Scottsdale, AZ
    Gregory Peairs, Phoenix Country Day School, Paradise Valley, AZ
    Anne Ye, Little Rock Central High School, Little Rock, AR
    Daniel Thompson, Arkansas School Math & Sciences, Hot Springs, AR
    Julie Jin, Westview High School, San Diego, CA
    Austin Moehle, Acalanes High School, Lafayette, CA
    Sharon Wu, Littleton High School, Littleton, CO
    Samuel Elder, Poudre High School, Ft Collins, CO
    Stephanie Choi, Choate Rosemary Hall, Wallingford, CT
    Shengkai Wu, The Hotchkiss School, Lakeville, CT
    Mengfei Yang, Charter School of Wilmington, Wilmington, DE
    Rui Hu, Charter School of Wilmington, Wilmington, DE
    Christina Ren, Buchholz High School, Gainesville, FL
    Rui Yang, Miami Palmetto Senior High School, Miami, FL
    Amy Kovac, Heritage High School, Conyers, GA
    Sriram Velamuri, North Springs High School, Atlanta, GA
    Bo Hyung Yoon, Hawaii Preparatory Academy, Kamuela, HI
    Thomas Young, Punahou School, Honolulu, HI
    Andrea Christensen, Timberline High School, Boise, ID
    Christopher Anderson, Boise High School, Boise, ID
    Maria Birukova, University of Chicago Laboratory High School, Chicago, IL
    Gregory Gauthier, Wheaton North High School, Wheaton, IL
    Linxi Ji, Carmel High School, Carmel, IN
    Xingping Shen, Carmel High School, Carmel, IN
    Michelle Han, West High School, Iowa City, IA
    Shuo Zhang, West High School, Iowa City, IA
    Katelyn Gao, Wichita High School East, Wichita, KS
    Seung-Tack Baek, Wichita Collegiate School, Wichita, KS
    Nan Hu, Paul Laurence Dunbar High School, Lexington, KY
    Kevin Tong, duPont Manual Magnet High School, Louisville, KY
    Malavika Balachandran, McKinley Senior High School, Baton Rouge, LA
    Tong Chen, Grace King High School, Metairie, LA
    Elizabeth Cummings, Cape Elizabeth High School, Cape Elizabeth, ME
    Jesse Hamilton, Wells High School, Wells, ME
    Christina Zou, Montgomery Blair High School, Silver Spring, MD
    Kynan Rilee, Eleanor Roosevelt High School, Greenbelt, MD
    Anji Tang, Belmont High School, Belmont, MA
    Ryan Park, Phillips Academy, Andover, MA
    Hanlu Chen, Troy High School, Troy, MI
    Kunal Mehta, Detroit Country Day, Beverly Hills, MI
    Deepa Chari, Blake School, Minneapolis, MN
    Igor Luzhansky, Eden Prairie High School, Eden Prairie, MN
    Bowen Zhou, Jackson Academy, Jackson, MS
    Adrienne Stormo, Clayton High School, Clayton, MO
    David Levary, Parkway Central High School, Chesterfield, MO
    Karen Smith, Bozeman High School, Bozeman, MT
    Will Nalls, Stevensville High School, Stevensville, MT
    Nora Kovar, Duchesne Academy of the Sacred Heart, Omaha, NE
    Benjamin Kotopka, Pius X High School, Lincoln, NE
    Shankari Rajagopal, Churchill County High School, Fallon, NV
    Kevin Kowalski, The Meadows School, Las Vegas, NV
    Heejung Kim, Saint Paul's School, Concord, NH
    Travers Rhodes, Hanover High School, Hanover, NH
    Yiwen Zhan, Hunterdon Central Regional High School, Flemington, NJ
    Thomas Snell, New Jersey Home School, Hamilton, NJ
    Helen Wu, Albuquerque Academy, Albuquerque, NM
    Benjamin Dozier, Los Alamos High School, Los Alamos, NM
    Andrea Yonge, Ithaca High School, Ithaca, NY
    David Rosengarten, John L. Miller Great Neck North High School, Great
     Neck, NY
    Shivani Sud, Charles E. Jordan Senior High School, Durham, NC
    Vivek Bhattacharya, William G. Enloe High School, Raleigh, NC
    Tyler Swenson, Dickinson High School, Dickinson, ND
    Elizabeth Wei, Sycamore High School, Cincinnati, OH
    Eric Fredrickson, Mayfield High School, Mayfield, OH
    Amy Tai, Oklahoma School of Science & Mathematics, Oklahoma City, OK
    Peter Zhang, Holland Hall School, Tulsa, OK
    Jennifer Delurey, Westview High School, Portland, OR
    Jackson Newhouse, Ulysses S. Grant High School, Portland, OR
    Cathy Wu, Emmaus High School, Emmaus, PA
    Ashok Bhaskar, Conestoga High School, Berwyn, PA
    Ji Hyun Kim, Portsmouth Abbey School, Portsmouth, RI
    Jovian Yu, East Greenwich High School, East Greenwich, RI
    Bella Wang, Governor School of Science & Mathematics, Hartsville, SC
    Junda Chen, Governor School of Science & Mathematics, Hartsville, SC
    Qing Wang, Lincoln Senior High School, Sioux Falls, SD
    Daniel Parrott, Lincoln Senior High School, Sioux Falls, SD
    Hyeseung (Hallie) Chung, Baylor School, Chattanooga, TN
    Zachery Lindsey, Karns High School, Knoxville, TN
    Lingyi Zhang, Sandra Day O'Connor High School, Helotes, TX
    Gilberto Lopez, Edinburg North High School, Edinburg, TX
    Alice Carter, Skyline High School, Salt Lake City, UT
    Daniel Posch, Waterford School, Sandy, UT
    Emily Xue, Essex High School, Essex Junction, VT
    David Rolnick, Vermont Home School, Rupert, VT
    Cassandra Xia, Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology,
     Alexandria, VA
    Jack Wang, Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology,
     Alexandria, VA
    Catherine Olsson, Lakeside School, Seattle, WA
    Seungsoo Kim, Mountain View High School, Vancouver, WA
    Maria Xu, Morgantown High School, Morgantown, WV
    Jerry Wang, Morgantown High School, Morgantown, WV
    Madeleine Stearns, University School of Milwaukee, Milwaukee, WI
    Philip Streich, Wisconsin Home School, Adams, WI
    Srihari Sritharan, Laramie Senior High School, Laramie, WY


    Teacher National Winner:
    Penny Smeltzer, Westwood High School, Austin, TX


    Teacher State Winners:
    Teresa Tarter, Bob Jones High School, Madison, AL
    Wendy Ehnert, Austin E. Lathrop High School, Fairbanks, AK
    Sandy Harness, Shadow Mountain High School, Phoenix, AZ
    Deena Dunn, Van Buren High School, Van Buren, AR
    Julianne Zedalis, The Bishop's School, La Jolla, CA
    Jeanette Carpenter, Arapahoe High School, Centennial, CO
    Keirsten Huttig, Simsbury High School, Simsbury, CT
    Thomas Koliss, Newark High School, Newark, DE
    Karen Clawson, Wellington High School, Wellington, FL
    Pamela Fedas, Wesleyan School, Norcross, GA
    Deborah Kula, Sacred Hearts Academy High School, Honolulu, HI
    Dick Jordan, Timberline High School, Boise, ID
    Jay Walgren, Vernon Hills High School, Vernon Hills, IL
    Allen King, Canterbury School, Fort Wayne, IN
    Scott Schaub, Xavier High School, Cedar Rapids, IA
    Theresa Grospitch, Blue Valley West High School, Overland Park, KS
    Carol Kanabroski, Larry Ryle High School, Union, KY
    Jane Meneray, Isidore Newman School, New Orleans, LA
    Christine Bessette, Berwick Academy, South Berwick, ME
    Coit Hendley, Eleanor Roosevelt High School, Greenbelt, MD
    John Lieb, Roxbury Latin School, West Roxbury, MA
    James Adams, Grosse Pointe South High School, Grosse Pointe, MI
    Jennifer Steiger, Mahtomedi Senior High School, Mahtomedi, MN
    Robin Thompson, Gulfport High School, Gulfport, MS
    Sandra Burkhard-Canellas, Ladue Horton Watkins High School, St. Louis, MO
    Robert Truax, Great Falls High School, Great Falls, MT
    Christopher Goodrich, Creighton Preparatory School, Omaha, NE
    Phillip Bombino, Edward W. Clark High School, Las Vegas, NV
    Marina Capen, Souhegan High School, Amherst, NH
    Janet Eckhouse, Haddonfield Memorial High School, Haddonfield, NJ
    Lesha Dawn Harenberg, Eldorado High School, Albuquerque, NM
    Martin Rosenberg, Edgemont High School, Scarsdale, NY
    David Taylor, John T. Hoggard High School, Wilmington, NC
    Laurie Crummy, Red River Senior High School, Grand Forks, ND
    Evelyn Dietz, Ursuline Academy, Cincinnati, OH
    Alexi Byford, Cascia Hall Preparatory School, Tulsa, OK
    Jon Kawamura, West Salem High School, Salem, OR
    Jerry Colapinto, Holy Ghost Preparatory School, Bensalem, PA
    Robert Marley, Barrington High School, Barrington, RI
    Kurt Wagner, The South Carolina Governor's School for Science &
     Mathematics, Hartsville, SC
    Jeffrey Berndt, Washington Senior High School, Sioux Falls, SD
    Peggy Bertrand, Oak Ridge High School, Oak Ridge, TN
    Penny Smeltzer, Westwood High School, Austin, TX
    Kimberly Knight, Bountiful High School, Bountiful, UT
    Lynn Fisher, Woodstock Union High School, Woodstock, VT
    John Barnes, Maggie L. Walker Governor's School for Government &
     International Studies, Richmond, VA
    Marguerite Taimi, Kentridge Senior High School, Kent, WA
    Greg Dodd, George Washington High School, Charleston, WV
    Brian Pack, University School of Milwaukee, Milwaukee, WI
    Rhonda Bell, Sheridan High School, Sheridan, WY


    High School State Winners:
    Oak Mountain High School, Birmingham, AL
    Palmer High School, Palmer, AK
    Xavier College Preparatory, Phoenix, AZ
    Southside High School, Ft. Smith, AR
    Diamond Bar High School, Diamond Bar, CA
    Cherry Creek High School, Greenwood Village, CO
    Amity Regional High School, Woodbridge, CT
    Archmere Academy, Claymont, DE
    Gonzaga College High School, Washington, DC
    Miami Palmetto Sr. High School, Miami, FL
    Lassiter High School, Marietta, GA
    Iolani School, Honolulu, HI
    Centennial High School, Boise, ID
    Glenbrook North High School, Northbrook, IL
    Carmel High School, Carmel, IN
    Central Academy - Central Campus, Des Moines, IA
    Lawrence Free State High School, Lawrence, KS
    Saint Xavier High School, Louisville, KY
    Mandeville High School, Mandeville, LA
    South Portland High School, South Portland, ME
    Andover High School, Andover, MA
    Athens High School, Troy, MI
    Central High School, St. Paul, MN
    Madison Central High School, Madison, MS
    Parkway West High School, Ballwin, MO
    Sweet Grass County High School, Big Timber, MT
    Brownell-Talbot School, Omaha, NE
    Advanced Technologies Academy, Las Vegas, NV
    Pinkerton Academy, Derry, NH
    Princeton High School, Princeton, NJ
    La Cueva High School, Albuquerque, NM
    Brighton High School, Rochester, NY
    Northwest Guilford High School, Greensboro, NC
    Fargo South High School, Fargo, ND
    Hudson High School, Hudson, OH
    Edmond Memorial High School, Edmond, OK
    Liberty High School, Hillsboro, OR
    State College Area High School, State College, PA
    Bishop Hendricken High School, Warwick, RI
    Spring Valley High School, Columbia, SC
    Central High School, Aberdeen, SD
    Martin Luther King Jr. Magnet High School for Health Sciences &
     Engineering, Nashville, TN
    Science & Engineering Magnet High School, Dallas, TX
    West High School, Salt Lake City, UT
    Saint Johnsbury Academy, Saint Johnsbury, VT
    Lake Braddock Secondary School, Burke, VA
    Newport High School, Bellevue, WA
    Parkersburg High School, Parkersburg, WV
    Marshfield Senior High School, Marshfield, WI
    Campbell County Senior High School, Gillette, WY


    CONTACT

    Alex Aizenberg                     Andrew Bard
    Weber Shandwick                    Weber Shandwick
    212-445-8414                       212-445-8368
    aaizenberg@webershandwick.com      abard@webershandwick.com

    Valerie Francois
    Siemens Foundation
    732-590-5292
    valerie.francois@siemens.com