WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) today announced the winners of the 2022 National Science Bowl® (NSB). Students from Lynbrook High School in San Jose, California won the high school competition, while students from Odle Middle School in Bellevue, Washington took home first place in the middle school competition. The NSB fosters innovation and creativity of America’s young minds and helps develop the next generation of STEM leaders who will play a crucial role in solving our nation’s toughest challenges.  

“Congratulations to Odle Middle School and Lynbrook High School for winning the 2022 National Science Bowl, and the ingenuity and dedication brought by all the teams to this challenging competition,” said U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer M. Granholm. “By cultivating the next generation of technology and science leaders, we are investing in the future of America.” 

Lynbrook High School and Mission San Jose High School emerged victorious from a field of 62 high school regional winners in the virtual Finals competition held in May.  

Lynbrook High School, coached by Lester Leung, correctly answered the following question to win the 2022 NSB:  

“At which of the following ocean depths would you find ocean water with the highest pH in an average marine water column? W) The surface, X) 100 meters, Y) 1000 meters, or Z) 4000 meters.” With the correct answer, “X) 100 meters.” 

Lynbrook High School team members include: William Huang, Anirudh Bharadwaj, Antone Jung, David Lee, and Sharon Zhu. 

Lynbrook High School won $3,000 for their school’s science department. The second-place team will receive $2,500 and the top third and fourth place teams will each receive $2,000. Additionally, all students on the first, second, and third place teams will receive a gift card to use towards personal educational expenses.  

In the middle school competition, Odle Middle School from Bellevue, Washington claimed the NSB title over Jonas Clarke Middle School from Lexington, Massachusetts. The members of the winning middle school team coached by Sudha Dastrala include: Vishnu Mangipudi, Piyush Acharya, Aishwarya Agrawal, Aryan Agrawal, Vakil Rishabh. 

The top two middle school teams, Odle Middle School and Jonas Clarke Middle School, emerged victorious from a field of 46 middle school regional champions that participated in the virtual National Science Bowl® Finals and, like the high school winners, Odle Middle School won $3,000 for their school’s science department. The second-place teams will receive $2,500 and the top third and fourth place teams will each receive $2,000. 

DOE created the National Science Bowl® in 1991 to encourage students to excel in mathematics and science and to pursue careers in these fields. Approximately 325,000 students have participated in the National Science Bowl® since its creation. Teams wishing to compete in next year’s National Science Bowl® competition may sign up in the fall.  

DOE’s Office of Science manages the National Science Bowl® and sponsors the finals competition.  

Additional information about the teams and the National Science Bowl® is available at: https://science.osti.gov/wdts/nsb.