UPTON, NY — Farmingdale High School won the Brookhaven National Laboratory/Long Island Regional High School Science Bowl held at the Lab on Saturday, January 31. Farmingdale competed against 15 other teams from across the region in one of the nation's regional competitions of the 25th Annual U.S. Department of Energy National Science Bowl® (NSB). The winning teams will be awarded an all-expenses-paid trip to the National Finals in Washington, D.C., scheduled for April 30-May 4. 

In an exciting finish, Farmingdale High School edged out Great Neck South High School to win the competition.  Last year's top team, Ward Melville High School, took third place, and Longwood High School was the fourth-place division winner.

"The National Science Bowl® has grown into one of the most prestigious science academic competitions in the country and challenges students to excel in fields vital to America's future," U.S. Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz said. "I congratulate these students for advancing to the National Finals, where they will be among some of the brightest science and math students from across the country."

Farmingdale coach Peter Macchia is proud of his students. "These students worked very hard and practiced nearly every school day," said Macchia. "Their hard work paid off, putting Farmingdale High School on the map with recognition as a strong academic school." 

Farmingdale's team captain student Suraj Muralidharan agrees with the coach.  "We were a little disappointed when we took fourth place last year making this year's victory even sweeter," said Muralidharan. "We congratulate all of the teams here today and recognize how hard they had to work to participate in this contest."

A series of 118 regional middle school and high school tournaments are being held across the country from January through March. Winners will advance to represent their areas at the National Science Bowl®, held from April 30 to May 4 in Washington, D.C. for the final middle school and high school competitions. 

The top 16 high school teams and the top eight middle school teams in the National Finals will win $1,000 for their schools' science departments. Prizes for the top two high school teams for the 2015 NSB will be announced at a later date.

The high school team that won the 2014 NSB received a nine-day, all-expenses-paid science trip to Alaska, where they learned about glaciology, marine and avian biology, geology and plate tectonics. The second place high school team at the 2014 NSB won a five-day, fully guided adventure tour of several national parks, which included a whitewater rafting trip.

Approximately 240,000 students have participated in the National Science Bowl® since it was established in 1991, and it is one of the nation's largest science competitions. More than 14,000 students compete in the NSB each year.

In the competition at Brookhaven, participating students received a Science Bowl t-shirt, and winning teams also received trophies, medals, and cash awards. Prizes are courtesy of Brookhaven Lab's event sponsor, Brookhaven Science Associates, the company that manages and operates the Lab for the U.S. Department of Energy. 

The U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Science manages the National Science Bowl®, and sponsors the National Science Bowl® finals competition. More information about these events is available on the National Science Bowl® website.

Call (631) 344-2345 for more information.