Students from California and Massachusetts Win DOE’s 36th Annual National Science Bowl®

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, students from Mission San Jose High School in Fremont, California won the high school competition for the 2026 U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) National Science Bowl^® (NSB). In the middle school competition, students from William Diamond Middle School in Lexington, Massachusetts took home first place.

"Congratulations to the winners of the 2026 National Science Bowl, and to every student who competed this week," said Secretary Wright. "When I was a young kid, I fell in love with science. That curiosity took me to MIT, drove me to build companies, and ultimately led me to dedicate my career to bettering human lives through energy. The students in this competition have that same spark. They are the future engineers, scientists, and entrepreneurs who will keep America at the forefront of innovation, and events like this remind me that the next generation is more than ready for that challenge. America's greatest resource has always been its people, and these students prove that our future is in very good hands."

The top two high school teams emerged victorious from a field of 68 high school regional winners that competed in the finals competition. The National Science Bowl^® Finals ran from April 30 to May 4.

Ultimately, Mission San Jose High School defeated Davidson Academy from Reno, Nevada by correctly answering the final question, "Identify all of the following three statements that are true of phytochromes: 1: Pr localizes to the nucleus and acts as a transcription factor; 2: Pfr is constitutively ubiquitinated and degraded; 3) In the dark, Pr spontaneously converts to Pfr." Mission San Jose secured their victory with the correct answer of "2: Pfr is constitutively ubiquitinated and degraded." The members of the Mission San Jose High School team are Roshan Annamalai, Rutvik Arora, Anish Agarwal, Advaith Mopuri, and Theenash Sengupta. They are coached by Dorota Sawicka.

Mission San Jose High School won $5,000 for their school's science department. The second-place team, Davidson Academy will also receive $5,000. The top 16 high school teams will each take home $1,000 for their schools' science departments.

In the middle school competition, William Diamond Middle School defeated Miller Middle School from San Jose, California. The William Diamond team members are Andrea Xu, Helene Yang, Vince Srirattana, Houwen Wei, and Idhant Jaiswal. They are coached by Wendy Moy and Whitney Didie.

The top two middle school teams emerged victorious from a field of 48 regional champions that participated in the National Science Bowl^® Finals. William Diamond Middle School and Miller Middle School each won $5,000. The top 16 middle school teams will also receive $1,000 for their schools' science departments.

Three additional winners were recognized this weekend following the middle school Cyber Challenge, presented by Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. The Competition tested students' problem-solving skills through teamwork, computer science and artificial intelligence.

The top three teams in this year's Cyber Challenge were Heritage Middle School of Livingston, New Jersey; Davidson Academy of Reno, Nevada; and Cooper Middle School of McLean, Virginia. These three teams each earned $500 for their school's science department.

The National Science Bowl^® annually draws more than 10,000 middle and high school competitors. Over its 36-year history, approximately 360,000 students have participated in the National Science Bowl^® in its 36-year history. The knowledge that former competitors have acquired and, more importantly, the collaborative skills and study habits that they learned along the way have led them to success in a variety of fields. Many have become researchers; others are science and math professors. The 2026 competitors follow in the footsteps of previous National Science Bowl^® contestants and will blaze a trail for students in science, math, and engineering.

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.