Winners of the 2013 Siemens Competition in Math, Science & Technology Visit the NYSE

On Wednesday, February 5, executives and guests of the Siemens Foundation will visit the New York Stock Exchange to honor the winners of the 2013 Siemens Competition in Math, Science and Technology, the nation's premier science research competition for high school students and a signature program of the Siemens Foundation. The fifteenth annual awards were presented on December 10, 2013, at The George Washington University. To mark the occasion, Siemens Competition Grand Prize winners Eric Chen and the team of Priyanka Wadgaonkar, Zainab Mahmood, and JiaWen Pei will ring the NYSE Closing Bell with Eric Spiegel, Chief Executive Officer, Siemens USA and David Etzwiler, CEO, Siemens Foundation. The Winning Projects Eric Chen, a senior at Canyon Crest Academy in San Diego, Calif., won the $100,000 Grand Prize in the Individual category for his discovery of potent influenza endonuclease inhibitors, which could be used to develop anti-flu drugs. For his project titled Discovery of Novel Influenza Endonuclease Inhibitors to Fight Flu Pandemic, Eric combined computer modeling with experimental research to discover influenza virus inhibitors. These findings could be used to develop new anti-flu drugs that will help protect people against future influenza outbreaks. Seniors Priyanka Wadgaonkar, Zainab Mahmood, and JiaWen Pei from George W. Hewlett High School, Hewlett, N.Y. will share a $100,000 scholarship for their project entitled The Isolation and Characterization of an Ozone Responsive Stress Related Protein (OZS) in Ceratopteris richardii. The team characterized the "ozone responsive stress related protein" gene in a fern model system that confers protective resistance against ozone pollution. This gene occurred early in plant evolution, possibly to cope with the effects of environmental stressors on early plants. This gene has the potential to make important crops more resistant to ozone and other problems such as drought and soil salinity that produce crop damage that costs billions of dollars per year. Connect with the Siemens Foundation on Facebook (SiemensFoundation) and Twitter (@SFoundation), #SiemensComp. The Siemens Competition Launched in 1998, the Siemens Competition is the nation's premier science research competition for high school students. A record 2,440 students registered to enter the Siemens Competition this year. Three hundred thirty-one students were named semifinalists, 100 were named regional finalists and 20were named national finalists. Entries are judged at the regional level by esteemed scientists at six leading research universities which host the regional competitions: California Institute of Technology, Carnegie Mellon University, Georgia Institute of Technology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, University of Notre Dame and The University of Texas at Austin. About the Siemens Foundation The Siemens Foundation provides more than $7 million annually in support of educational initiatives in the areas of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) in the United States. Its signature programs include the Siemens Competition in Math, Science & Technology, a STEM research competition for high school students, Siemens We Can Change the World Challenge, a sustainability challenge which encourages K-12 students to develop innovative green solutions for environmental issues and the Siemens STEM Academy, a national educator professional development program designed to support educators in their efforts to foster student achievement in STEM fields. By supporting outstanding students and educators today, and recognizing the mentors and schools that inspire STEM educational excellence, the Foundation helps nurture tomorrow's scientists and engineers. The Foundation's mission is based on the culture of innovation, research and educational support that is the hallmark of Siemens' U.S. companies. For further information, visit www.siemens-foundation.org or follow @sfoundation.