Bright young minds from coast to coast clashed this weekend, with Lexington High School of Massachusetts and BASIS Independent Bellevue of Washington taking top honors in the U.S. Department of Energy’s 34th National Science Bowl®. These whiz kids outshone the competition, securing the future of STEM leadership with each correct buzz.

The DOE stated that the students from Lexington conquered in the high school face-off, side-stepping tough rivals like North Hollywood High School with a decisive answer regarding the polar shifts of sunspots, while the BASIS Bellevue team topped the middle school charts by beating out Hopkins Junior High School from Fremont, California, both schools proving their mettle and walking away each with $5,000 for their science departments, Lexington High School shone with team members Damon Gurvich, Shreyas Ekanathan, Anuprabha Dandapat, Evin Liang, David Zhou, and led by coach Nick Gould, they've surely made their mark on the academic stage.

Secretary of Energy Jennifer M. Granholm praised the winners for their resourcefulness and hinted at a bright future: “Congratulations to the wonderfully brilliant minds...for winning the 2024 National Science Bowl – you faced fierce competition and persevered,” she gushed, “Our clean energy future will be in great hands with the next generation of STEM leaders – we can’t wait to see what you all dream up next.”

An impressive roster of science buffs, with over 10,000 students from varying backgrounds, took part in this year's colossal NSB competition, joining the ranks of approximately 344,000 before them since the inaugural 1991 showdown and the DOE assures us, many of the alumni have carved stellar paths in research and academia, the young victors of 2024 are set to follow in those formidable footsteps—forging ahead with ventures in the realms of science, math, and engineering, standing on the shoulders of the intellectual giants who came before them, lighting the way for an inspired future.