2023 Annual Report Banner - New Directions

Alumni

In 2023, we engaged both virtually and in person with our community of over 70,000 alumni from Society competitions. Additionally, we took a special retrospective look at the rich history of the past 80-plus years, sharing a collection of over 100 photos showcasing finalists’ visits to the White House, where they met U.S. Presidents from Harry Truman to Barack Obama.

If you are an alum of a Society competition, please register on the Society Alumni Network website to connect with fellow alumni and stay informed about Society events.

WHITE HOUSE PHOTO GALLERY

In 2023, we released a collection of photos featuring finalists in the Society’s science research competitions, Society staff and program sponsors with Presidents, Vice Presidents and First Ladies. The gallery, which contains more than 100 photos and captions, dates back to the Society’s first visit to the White House in 1942, when Vice President Wallace met with the very first Science Talent Search class.

The gallery includes photos with nearly every president since 1942, a testament to the special relationship the Society and its alumni have with the White House, as well as their shared commitment to STEM research and scholarship in America.

 

View the White House Photo Gallery

White House Photo Gallery - Presidents Bush, Kennedy, Obama, Truman, Clinton and Eisenhower pictured in collage format

CONNECTING WITH ALUMNI

Conversations With Maya

Over the course of the year, the Society’s President & CEO, Maya Ajmera, engaged four accomplished Society alumni in wide-ranging conversations about their personal story, their life’s work, and their advice for young people interested in pursuing careers in the sciences.

Gayle Wilson

Gayle Wilson (STS 1960) is an advocate for children’s health care and STEM education. The former first lady of California, Wilson helped found COSMOS, a summer program that connects high schoolers with prominent STEM researchers in the University of California system. She has served on a variety of nonprofit boards, including Society for Science’s Board of Trustees, and is currently is a member of the Society’s Honorary Board.

Headshot of Gayle Wilson

Frank Wilczek

Frank Wilczek (STS 1967) is a theoretical physicist, author and Nobel laureate who has made seminal contributions to fundamental particle physics, cosmology and the physics of materials. His current research focus includes axions, anyons and time crystals, which are concepts in physics that he named and pioneered. He serves on the Society’s Honorary Board.

Notable Alumni Frank Wilczek

Fatima Cody Stanford

Fatima Cody Stanford (ISEF 1995) is an obesity medicine physician-scientist, educator and policymaker at Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School. As an expert in obesity medicine, she works at the intersection of medicine, public health, policy and disparities.

A portrait of Dr. Fatima Cody Stanford

NOTABLE ALUMNI

In honor of the Society’s centennial year in 2021, we unveiled a list of exceptional alumni of Society competitions who embody the principles of leadership, innovation and global impact. In 2023, the Society recognized six additional alumni who have made extraordinary contributions to their fields by naming them to the Notable Alumni List: Charles H. Bennett, Greg Brockman, John Clauser, Cecil D. Haney, Louise Schmir Hay and Lester Mackey.

 

Meet the Latest Notable Alumni

An image with six photos, of each of the new alumni added to the Notable Alumni list

SIGNATURE EVENT

The Society’s Summer Signature Event featured an in-depth conversation between Science News Senior Writer Tina Hesman Saey and Leroy Hood (STS 1956). A biologist and professor, Hood is responsible for inventing, developing and commercializing chemical technologies that address biological complexity — most notably, the automated DNA sequencer used in the Human Genome Project. He has also founded more than a dozen companies over the course of his career, including Amgen. He is one of only 20 scientists to be elected to all three of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.

SOCIETY BLOG

Celebrating groundbreaking women alumni both in and out of STEM 

Women who have competed in Society for Science programs have been breaking barriers in STEM and making names for themselves — in spaces historically dominated by men — for decades. See how these women are changing the world.

22 Society alumni named to Forbes “30 Under 30” lists

Meet some of the young alumni who are already making their mark, founding organizations and pioneering solutions to some of the world’s most important challenges.

Reading list: Five books written by Society for Science alumni

On Earth Day 2023, we caught up with some Society for Science alumni who are leading the way toward keeping our planet green.

ISEF ALUMNI PANELS

Innovation, Entrepreneurship and Impact

  • Catherine Havasi, Ph.D. (ISEF 1998–1999, STS 1999), Chief of Innovation and Strategy, Babel Street
  • Jonah Kallenbach (ISEF 2011–2012, STS 2013), CEO, Reverie Labs
  • Shannon Nangle, Ph.D. (ISEF 2004–2005), Co-founder & CEO, Circe
  • Matthew Tamayo (ISEF 2002), Founder & CEO, OpenLattice
  • Nikhita Singh (ISEF 2007–2008), Co-founder & CPO, Artificial, Inc.
  • Moderated by Maya Ajmera (STS 1985) President & CEO, Society for Science, and Executive Publisher, Science News

Women in STEM

  • Anjali Chadha (BCM 2015, ISEF 2017–2018, STS 2019), Undergraduate, MIT Biological Engineering; Founder, Empowered, Inc.
  • Kavya Kopparapu (BCM 2013, ISEF 2017, STS 2018), Founder & CEO, Girls Computing League; Research Engineer, Deep Mind
  • Magan Lewis, Ph.D. (DCYSC 1999, ISEF 2002), Equipment & Automated Field Sensing Lead, Bayer
  • Erin Smith (ISEF 2017–2018, STS 2018), Founder, FacePrint; Behavior Design Lab; Undergraduate, Stanford University
  • Moderated by Nicole Small, CEO of LH Capital, Inc. and Lyda Hill Philanthropies

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