The Naperville North Students Claire Chen, Andrew Tank, Yikai Liu, Dingjia Shen, and Jeffrey Tong won the Illinois State Regional hosted by Illinois State University at Naperville North on February 4. The NNHS team won first place out of sixteen schools, defeating Stevenson twice in a dramatic comeback win. This win is the team’s seventh straight state championship.
Their victory earns them an all-expense paid trip to Washington D.C. to compete in the Department of Energy’s prestigious National Science Bowl. The national competition will be held in Washington D.C. starting on Thursday, April 27 through Monday, May 1st.
The 2021 Naperville North Team will also be honored during an award ceremony celebrating their 2nd place finish at the National Science Bowl, held virtually due to the pandemic.
The Energy Department created the National Science Bowl in 1991 to encourage students to excel in mathematics and science and to pursue careers in these fields. More than 200,000 students have participated in the National Science Bowl throughout its 22 year history, and it is the nation’s largest science competition. Most teams are coached by teachers from the students’ schools and spend several months preparing for the regional competitions. The regional tournaments, which host 15-50 teams, are sponsored by federal agencies, national laboratories, institutions of education and non-profit organizations.