The two founding scientists and physicians leading Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. were at the American Museum of Natural History in Manhattan this morning to celebrate their Westchester company”™s new sponsorship of the nation”™s Science Talent Search and $100 million, 10-year commitment to the annual competition for high school students and other educational programs promoting the sciences.
Regeneron”™s sponsorship of the 74-year-old Science Talent Search was announced on Thursday by the Society for Science & the Public, the nonprofit that hosts the prestigious annual competition, whose alumni include 12 Nobel Prize winners, 17 MacArthur Foundation “genius grant” winners, and Regeneron”™s two founders, President and CEO Leonard Schleifer and George D. Yancopoulos, the company”™s chief scientific officer and president of Regeneron Laboratories. Society officials said Regeneron was selected through a competitive process that attracted the nation”™s leading companies and philanthropists.
Regeneron immediately succeeds Intel, the California-based microprocessor maker, as the competition”™s title sponsor after 18 years. Westinghouse sponsored the program from its inception in 1942 through 1997.
Since its start in World War II, the Science Talent Search has awarded more than $25 million overall to more than 8,500 competing students and schools. Each year, approximately 1,800 students submit original research, some focusing on medical issues, technology breakthroughs and social innovations. The top 300 entries are recognized as the top young scientists in the U.S. Forty finalists are invited to Washington, D.C., for a week-long competition and celebration of science.
Society officials said Regeneron has committed $100 million to support the talent search and other Society programs through 2016. The biopharmaceutical company is nearly doubling the overall award distribution to $3.1 million annually, increasing the top award to $250,000 and doubling the awards for the top 300 young scientists and their schools to $2,000 each.
Of Regeneron”™s total investment, $30 million will be dedicated to expanding Society initiatives to increase outreach and equity for students nationwide to nurture their interest in the sciences. Society officials said the funding will support programming designed to reach new and underprivileged communities, support teachers and inspire more students to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics.
Maya Ajmera, president and CEO of the Society for Science & the Public, said Regeneron”™s financial commitment is the largest the nonprofit has ever received from a single organization.
“Through the dedication of Regeneron not only to continue but to advance the Science Talent Search, we will be expanding the program”™s reach like never before, extending the opportunities that individual research can offer and inspiring even more of our nation”™s talented young scientists,” she said.
Yancopoulos, a top winner of the 1976 Science Talent Search from Queens, in remarks at the ceremony called the competition “a life-changing experience that inspired my future scientific career.” Regeneron, he said, is “committed to supporting a rich pipeline of future talent who will improve our world through science and engineering for generations to come.”
Schleifer, another Queens-bred alumnus of the Science Talent Search who competed in 1970, said it is “absolutely critical that the best and brightest minds pursue careers in science and engineering. This unrivaled program provides important motivation and reinforcement for talented young people to stay this course.”
