Annual Report 2021
SELECT SECTION
2021 Annual Report: Society Alumni
Though we couldn’t be together in person in 2021, alumni of the Society’s three competitions – Regeneron Science Talent Search, Regeneron ISEF and Broadcom MASTERS – still found ways to connect. Below are some highlights of how alumni came together to share their insights and experiences with each other, as well as with the next generation.
Are you an alum? Learn more and get involved!
Regeneron STS Alumni Conversations
At the virtual Regeneron Science Talent Search, Maya Ajmera spoke with esteemed alumni Nina Schor (STS 1972) and Ron Vale (STS 1976) about their STS experiences.
Meet the New Members of the NLC
The Society for Science National Leadership Council is composed of alumni leaders from the Society’s Science Talent Search, International Science and Engineering Fair, and middle school science competitions.
The mission of the Council is to advance the Society’s goals; to share alumni achievements with the world at large; and to create a spirit of unity, engagement and philanthropy among Society alumni, members, supporters and friends.
2021 Signature Event
In the Society’s second virtual Signature Event, keynote speaker Tom Gruber, Co-Founder and CTO of the team that created Siri and Founder of Humanistic AI, discussed the potential of AI to augment human intelligence.
Conversations with Maya
Over the course of the year, the Society’s President & CEO, Maya Ajmera, engaged some accomplished Society alumni in wide-ranging conversations about their personal stories, their life’s work, and their advice for young people interested in pursuing careers in the sciences.
Read our edited summaries of their interviews on the Society blog:
Monika Schleier-Smith
Monika Schleier-Smith (STS 2001) is an Associate Professor of Physics at Stanford University and a MacArthur fellow.
“As an amateur violinist, I was fascinated by this idea [that fractals appear in music] and started investigating what I could learn by analyzing the fractal patterns in music. . . That actually turned into a science fair project.”
Roald Hoffmann
Roald Hoffmann (STS 1955) is the Frank H. T. Rhodes Professor of Humane Letters Emeritus at Cornell University, as well as an accomplished poet and playwright.
“My life was divided by a marker, which was coming to America. The first 11 years of my life were spent both in surviving and then being a refugee.”
Roderic Pettigrew
Roderic Pettigrew (ISEF 1967) was founding director of the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (NIBIB), and currently serves as CEO of Engineering Health and Executive Dean for Engineering Medicine at Texas A&M University, in partnership with Houston Methodist Hospital.
“I always had this basic interest in the welfare of man and a love of science. Those two come together in the biological sciences and medicine.”
Broadcom MASTERS Reunion
In 2021, we celebrated the tenth anniversary of the Broadcom MASTERS competition by hosting a virtual reunion open to all past participants. The event welcomed more than 160 alumni from the past decade to (re)connect with each other, as well as with the 2021 cohort.
Read the blog postCommunity and Creativity in Aerospace
In a discussion with alumni following a special screening of Apollo 13, Michael Kanfer (STS 1976, ISEF 1976), an Academy Award-winning visual effects artist who worked on the film, spoke with two researchers and innovators in the field of space exploration:
- Abigail Fraeman (STS 2005), Curiosity Mars Rover Deputy Project Scientist at Caltech’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory
- David Moore (STS 1999, ISEF 1999), Principal Software Engineer at SpaceX
Society Alumni Network
In 2021, the Society Alumni Network, a vibrant online community connecting alumni of all Society competitions, grew to over 3,400 members. If you are an alum interested in joining the network, you can learn more and register on the Society Alumni Network website.
