The winners of the first ever Google Science Fair met with President Obama in the Oval Office this week. The competition for the titles was fierce, with entries from more than 10,000 students from 91 countries submitted via the web. That the winners were smart and creative scholars came as no surprise to anyone. What went against conventional wisdom however, was that all three of the winners were young women from the United States, which made the win even more exciting for Naomi Shaw, 16. "It’s really great to see that the tides are shifting and women are entering the science field and the technology field. And I’m really glad to be a part of that. I hope to create a group of mentors that people kind of are aware of this field in science and technology and they’re interested in it at a younger age."
Shree Bose from Fort Worth, Texas was both the grand prize winner and named best in the 17-18 category, and was honored for her research on improving ovarian cancer treatment for people who have built up resistance to a common type of chemotherapy drugs, work she completed as a junior in high school. Shaw of Portland, Oregon, won the 15-16 category for her study on the effects of air quality on lungs, with a focus on people with asthma, and Lauren Hodge of Dallastown, Pennsylvania won the age 13-14 category for research on whether marinades reduce the amount of cancer-causing compounds produced by grilling meat. She found that lemon juice and brown sugar cut the level of carcinogens sharply.
Hodge said the reactions from her classmates surprised her. "It was funny because you come back and it’s like “how was the science fair” and it’s like, 'I won my age group.' And they were like 'that’s so cool.' It was just neat because it wasn’t just, 'oh, it’s just science, ew.' I mean, they were excited about it."
Fonte: White House