The Regeneron Science Talent Search, known for its first 57 years as the Westinghouse Science Talent Search, and then as the Intel Science Talent Search from 1998 through 2015, is a research-based science competition in the United States for high school seniors. It has been referred to as "the nation's oldest and most prestigious" science competition. In his speech at the dinner honoring the 1991 Winners, President George H. W. Bush called the competition the "Super Bowl of science."
The Society for Science & the Public began the competition in 1942 with Westinghouse Electric Corporation; for many years, the competition was known as the Westinghouse Science Talent Search. In 1998, Intel became the sponsor after it outbid several other companies. In May 2016, it was announced that Regeneron would be the new title sponsor. Over the years, some 147,000 students have entered the competition. Over 22,000 have been named semifinalists and 2,920 have traveled to Washington, D.C., as contest finalists. Collectively, they have received millions of dollars in scholarships and gone on, in later years, to capture Nobel Prizes, Fields Medals, MacArthur Fellowships and numerous other accolades.
Eight went on to receive Nobel Prizes, two earned the Fields Medal, five have been awarded the National Medal of Science, twelve received MacArthur Fellowships; 56 have been named Sloan Research Fellows; 30 have been elected to the National Academy of Sciences; and five have been elected to the National Academy of Engineering.