 Akshai Baskaran, $25,000 Distinguished Award Recipient, Kennewick High School
Akshai wants to study engineering at Stanford. His interest in science was piqued in the 6th grade when he participated in a middle school science fair. Akshai says, "it's my generation's challenge to clean up the environment and secure clean energy for the planet." He has participated in the Washington State and Mid Columbia science fairs for the last five years and has been an award winner every year. For science fairs, he has researched various topics such as the effect of nitrogen limitation on the lipid content of algae, the chemical digestion process in different woods to eliminate the production of pollutants, and plants with enriched levels of carbon dioxide to test the retention of the CO2 during decay. He participated in the For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology/FIRST Lego League competition and won the State's Best Robot Performance award. For the last two years he has competed in the FIRST Tech Challenge and this year was the chief programmer on the team and he received second place in the state in the individual qualifying round. In addition to getting all A's in a schedule loaded with advanced classes, he is also a member of the school's top Knowledge Bowl Team and has competed with them at nationals, he is president of the International Club, a member of the Science Bowl, and made the varsity tennis team as a freshman. "Akshai has the ability to think outside the box and tackle challenges in a thoughtful and logical sequence, resulting in some complex ideas which he has developed into functional solutions," said Dustin Caldwell who is a research engineer at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory and mentor for the FIRST robotics competition.
 Nathan Hulet, $25,000 Distinguished Award Recipient, Layton High School
Nathan wants to get a degree in engineering and use his mind to solve and create. From the third grade to the sixth grade he was in the Spectrum Program for gifted and talented students and began participating in science fairs in the fifth grade. In Junior High he was selected to compete in four high school events at the Science Olympiad. His team won the district and state competition. He competed in remote sensing-mars, rocks and minerals, Fermi questions, and oceanography. His team went on to the Science Olympiad National Tournament in Washington DC where he competed in the pentathlon event and placed fourth in the nation. He was chosen by the science department to be a teaching aid. As a teaching aid he facilitated special science projects, prepared class presentation, and tutored eighth grade students. As a top math student at his school, he was selected to participate in the state math contest the last two years. His Pre-calculus Honors teacher says, "as a teacher of mathematic for over 20 years, I have written many letters of recommendation. Many of those students are bright, responsible and successful. Nathan stands above the crowd.
 Rebecca Hu, $5,000 Distinguished Award Recipient, Hanford High School
Rebecca wants to study math at Harvard and has been competing in math contests since the 6th grade as an individual and on teams. For the past five years she has placed first in regional math competitions. Rebecca says she "needs to be able to apply mathematical logic and reasoning to solve practical problems dealing with other areas of learning such as science and engineering." In addition to her other classes she is currently taking AP Biology, AP Physics, and Pre Calculus Honors. She was also the freshman and now Sophomore Class President and won State Honorable Mention for piano from the Washington State Music Teachers Association. Vickie Kelly, Math Department Chair at Hanford High says, "Rebecca is a gifted math student who excels in high school and will do the same at the most challenging university." Dale Johns, Science Department Chair at Hanford High says, "I have been a high school teacher for over 25 years with more than 10 years experience teaching AP Biology and Rebecca is among the top few students I have taught."
 Chas Blakemore, $5,000 Distinguished Award Recipient, Academy for Math, Engineering, and Science
Chas wants to study physics at Stanford. His interest is in theoretical and particle physics and quantum chemistry. He won first place at the Salve Lake Valley Science and Engineering Fair in the Psychology Senior Division and received the second highest soccer in the state on the American Math Contest in 2006. He is a member of the Student Council, Math Club, Chess Club and writes articles for the school newspaper. Even with a full load of AP and concurrent enrollment classes, he is still ranked number one out of 128 students. Currently he is a research assistant at the University of Utah Electrochemical Lab. The Chair of the Department of Chemistry at the University of Utah says, "approximately 50 high school and undergraduate researchers have working in my lab in the past 25 years, and many have risen to become stars in academia and industry. I would rank Chas' potential among this group." And an Associate Professor of Chemistry at the University of Utah says, "Chas does in his mind with chemistry what an exceptionally skilled carpenter or mechanic does in his hands with wood, iron, and steel. He really is that good."
 Yajit Jain, $2,500 Distinguished Award Recipient, Oak Ridge High School
Yajit wants to pursue a mathematics degree at Stanford. He hopes to work on problems such as climate change, biotechnology, and alternative energy sources and to educate others and share his passion for mathematics. He is studying set theory, number theory and group theory under the mentorship of Dr. Jeffrey Holms at the Spallation Neutron Source. He has been a member of the math club at Oak Ridge High for three years and has received numerous awards. He has also participated in the Science Olympiad, Science Bowl, American Association of Physics Teachers Physics Bowl, the US Physics Team and the US Invitational Young Physicists Tournament and has won many awards in these also. Yagit is also a volunteer at the American Museum of Science and Energy, plays violin in the honors orchestra at his high school, and a member of the Oak Ridge Rowing Association. Benita Albert, Mathematics Department Chair at Oak Ridge High says, "he is an independent thinker who has, of his own volition, chosen to study creative problem solving techniques via the "Art of Problem Solving" book series and through similar activities in the high school math club."
 Matthew Munns, $2,500 Distinguished Award Recipient, Davis High School
Matthew wants to be an engineer to help overcome some of the problems we face in society today. He has participated in the science Olympiad for four years. According to his science teacher and Olympiad coach, "in 7th grade he joined the Science Olympiad team because of his curiosity and talent. With his help and his success in assignments, we continued to win at the state level for the three years he was on our team. He is every science teachers dream-curious and intelligent." His geometry teacher says, "although always at the top of the class, he is less interested in the pursuit of grades than the pursuit of knowledge."
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