White House Photo Gallery

STS finalists pose with Vice President Henry Wallace at the U.S. Capitol Building during the first Science Talent Institute in 1942. Wallace, a scientist himself, conversed with the students about their research and how science could aid the war effort.

Vice President Henry Wallace meets with 1943 STS finalists during their visit to the Capitol Building. During their trip to Washington, D.C., the students also toured NBC Studios with Westinghouse scientists, as Westinghouse owned several NBC affiliate radio stations at the time.

1944 STS finalists are greeted by First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt outside the White House. Following their meeting with the First Lady, the students toured the White House’s most famous rooms.

Vice President Henry Wallace welcomes STS finalists to the Capitol Building in 1944. One of the 1944 STS finalists, Ben Mottelson (pictured in the front row, fourth from left), went on to win the Nobel Prize in physics in 1975.

First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt speaks with STS finalists at the White House in 1944. This meeting marked the first time finalists visited the White House as part of their weeklong trip to Washington, D.C., starting a tradition that continues today.

1945 STS finalists meet with Vice President Harry Truman in his office at the Capitol Building. Shaking hands with Truman is top female winner Marion Joswick, whose project explored fluorescent minerals.

President Harry Truman meets with STS finalists in the Oval Office in 1947. The top winner that year, Martin Karplus (second row, fourth from right), later became a member of the Society’s Honorary Board and won the Nobel Prize in chemistry in 2013.

First Lady Elizabeth “Bess” Truman poses for a photo in front of the White House with the 1948 STS finalists. The students also visited the Agricultural Research Center and the National Bureau of Standards during their week-long trip to the capital.

1949 STS finalists meet President Harry Truman in the Oval Office. During their visit, Truman stated, “I am sincerely hoping that all of you will go ahead with what you have started.” Two finalists from that year, Edward Thorp and Walter Gilbert, later became members of the Society’s Honorary Board.

1950 STS finalists, including future Society Honorary Board member Sheldon Glashow, gather around President Harry Truman’s desk in the Oval Office. At the Awards Banquet that year, Dr. J. Robert Oppenheimer—the theoretical physicist known as the “father of the atomic bomb”—delivered the keynote address.

President Harry Truman welcomes STS finalists to the Oval Office in 1951. Truman urged the students to pursue careers in science, stating, “The power and welfare of this country is wrapped up in scientific research.”

1952 STS finalists meet with President Harry Truman in the White House Rose Garden. Truman remarked to the students, “I rather think we are going to have a peaceful world over the next century, and it will be your turn some day to make that world operate.”