White House Photo Gallery
Beginning in 1942, the White House has welcomed finalists from the Society for Science’s renowned science research competitions. These finalists have had the opportunity to meet with presidents, vice presidents and first ladies who were eager to promote STEM education and honor our nation’s young talent for developing solutions to society’s most urgent challenges.
This gallery was created to tell the story of the extraordinary relationship the Society has with the White House and their shared commitment to STEM research and scholarship in America.
We hope you draw inspiration as you explore these extraordinary photos. If you would like to share a photo of your visit to the White House as a finalist, please email alumni@societyforscience.org with “White House Gallery” in the subject line.
Please visit our Regeneron ISEF, Regeneron Science Talent Search and Thermo Fisher Scientific Junior Innovators Challenge (JIC) pages to learn more about the Society’s world-class science research competitions.
STS finalists pose with President George W. Bush outside the White House in 2004. That year, the Society awarded more than $400,000 in scholarship money to the 40 finalists.
![STS finalists meet President George W. Bush at the White House](https://www.societyforscience.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/2004_STSFinalists_PresidentBush_WhiteHouse_1000.jpg)
![STS finalists meet President George W. Bush at the White House](https://www.societyforscience.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/2004_STSFinalists_PresidentBush_WhiteHouse.jpg)
President George W. Bush welcomes the 2005 STS finalists to the White House East Room. After their meeting, the students watched the president present the National Medals of Science and Technology.
![President George W. Bush greets STS finalists at the White House](https://www.societyforscience.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/2005_Finalists_WhiteHouse_PresidentBush_1000.jpg)
![President George W. Bush greets STS finalists at the White House](https://www.societyforscience.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/2005_0314_PresidentBush_STSFinalists.jpg)
2005 STS finalists pose with President George W. Bush in the East Room of the White House. The top winner that year, David Bauer (third row, fourth from left), designed a device that rapidly detects nerve-damaging chemicals.
![STS finalists take a group photo with President George W. Bush](https://www.societyforscience.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/2005_0314_PresidentBush_STSFinalists_1000.jpg)
![STS finalists take a group photo with President George W. Bush](https://www.societyforscience.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/2005_Finalists_WhiteHouse_PresidentBush.jpg)
President George W. Bush greets 2006 STS finalists at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building in Washington, D.C. In 2006, Utah native Shannon Babb (front row, third from left) won the top prize for studying pollution in the Spanish Fork River in her home state.
![President George W. Bush meets with STS finalists in Washington](https://www.societyforscience.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/2006_Finalists_PresidentBush_1000.jpg)
![President George W. Bush meets with STS finalists in Washington](https://www.societyforscience.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/2006_Finalists_PresidentBush.jpg)
2006 STS finalist Cindy Wang discusses her project with then-Senator Barack Obama. For her project, Wang mapped the DNA mutation in mice that is responsible for colorblindness. Her research could lead to potential cures for colorblindness in humans.
![Cindy Wang discusses her project with Senator Obama](https://www.societyforscience.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/2006_STS_Senator_Obama_Cindy_Wang_1000.jpg)
![Cindy Wang discusses her project with Senator Obama](https://www.societyforscience.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/2006_STS_Senator_Obama_Cindy_Wang.jpg)
Senator Barack Obama learns about 2006 STS finalist Letian Zhang’s mathematics project. Zhang studied positive lattice points in an n-dimensional tetrahedra. This research helped him prove the General Estimate Granville-Lin-Yau conjecture.
![Letian Zhang presents his project to Senator Obama](https://www.societyforscience.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/2006_STS_Senator_Obama_Letian_Zhang_1000.jpg)
![Letian Zhang presents his project to Senator Obama](https://www.societyforscience.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/2006_STS_Senator_Obama_Letian_Zhang.jpg)
2006 STS finalist Sukrit Ranjan presents his project to then-Senator Barack Obama. Ranjan conducted a topographical analysis of the surface of Mars which helped him disprove previous theories about polar cloud formation on the planet.
![Senator Obama learns about Sukrit Ranjan’s project](https://www.societyforscience.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/2006_STS_SenatorObama_Sukrit_Ranjan_1000.jpg)
![Senator Obama learns about Sukrit Ranjan’s project](https://www.societyforscience.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/2006_STS_SenatorObama_Sukrit_Ranjan.jpg)
Vice President Dick Cheney meets with 2007 STS finalists at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building. During the Science Talent Institute, the finalists met other prominent politicians, including Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings.
![STS finalists meet Vice President Cheney](https://www.societyforscience.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/2007_STS_VicePresidentCheney_1000.jpg)
![STS finalists meet Vice President Cheney](https://www.societyforscience.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/2007_STS_VicePresidentCheney.jpg)
President Barack Obama receives 2009 STS finalists on the White House steps. Eric Larson (second row from back, third from left) won the top award for his project, “The Classification of Certain Fusion Categories.”
![President Obama welcomes STS finalists to the White House](https://www.societyforscience.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/2009_STSFinalists_PresidentObama_1000.jpg)
![President Obama welcomes STS finalists to the White House](https://www.societyforscience.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/2009_STSFinalists_PresidentObama.jpg)
President Barack Obama speaks at the first White House Science Fair in 2010. The president invited eight finalists of the Society’s research competitions to showcase their projects at the fair.
![Alumni listen to President Obama’s speech at the White House Science Fair](https://www.societyforscience.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/2010_WHSF_obama_students_1000.jpg)
![Alumni listen to President Obama’s speech at the White House Science Fair](https://www.societyforscience.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/2010_WHSF_obama_students.jpg)
Erika DeBenedictis, an alumna of STS, ISEF and the Discovery Channel Young Scientist Challenge competition, discusses her research with President Barack Obama at the 2010 White House Science Fair. DeBenedictis won the top award at ISEF 2010 for developing a navigation system for space travel.
![Erika DeBenedictus discusses her research with President Obama](https://www.societyforscience.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/2010_WHSF_debenedictis_erika_obama_1000.jpg)
![Erika DeBenedictus discusses her research with President Obama](https://www.societyforscience.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/2010_WHSF_debenedictis_erika_obama.jpg)
ISEF 2010 top winner Amy Chyao (far right) poses for a photo with First Lady Michelle Obama at the State of the Union address in 2011. The first lady invited Chyao, who developed a photosensitizer for treating cancer for her ISEF project, to join her in her viewing box for the address.
![First Lady Michelle Obama invites ISEF top winner Amy Chyao to State of the Union Address](https://www.societyforscience.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/2011_AmyChyao_StateoftheUnion_MichelleObama_1000.jpg)
![First Lady Michelle Obama invites ISEF top winner Amy Chyao to State of the Union Address](https://www.societyforscience.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/2011_AmyChyao_StateoftheUnion_MichelleObama.jpg)
President Barack Obama greets 2013 STS finalist Lane Gunderman during a visit to the White House. For his project, Gunderman studied the mechanics of energy transport during photosynthesis.
![STS finalist Lane Gunderman meets President Obama](https://www.societyforscience.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/2013_STS_gunderman_lane_president_obama_1000.jpg)
![STS finalist Lane Gunderman meets President Obama](https://www.societyforscience.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/2013_STS_gunderman_lane_president_obama.jpg)