Regeneron ISEF 2021 – Excellence in Science and Technology Panel
Dr. Roderic Pettigrew recently joined Nobel laureates Dr. Frances Arnold and Dr. H. Robert Horvitz, and MacArthur “genius grant” Fellow Dr. Monika Schleier-Smith, on the Excellence in Science and Technology Panel for the Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair. Together the group answered questions from student finalists across the globe who were selected to compete in the international science fair.
Engineering Medicine’s (EnMed) Executive Dean, Dr. Roderic I. Pettigrew, joined a panel of distinguished educators and scientists at the Excellence in Science and Technology Panel for the Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF) sponsored by the Society for Science on May 17.
The panelists answered questions from high school students across the globe who were selected as finalists to compete for nearly $5 million in awards, prizes and scholarships.
Pettigrew, who competed in the ISEF in the 10th grade from Albany, Georgia, during the latter phase of the civil rights era, answered questions from the student finalists on a range of topics, including time management, the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on collaborative research, the important role that art plays in STEM and choosing a career in academia over industry.
“Academia and industry careers both provide an opportunity to improve the human condition and that’s what it’s all about,” Pettigrew said. “The appeal of academia for me is that you can pursue a variety of scientific interests while also having the opportunity to interact with students, and how stimulating it is to be with students — I still consider myself to be one of you.”
Pettigrew was joined on the panel by Dr. Frances Arnold, Linus Pauling Professor of Chemical Engineering at the California Institute of Technology and Nobel laureate in chemistry; Dr. H. Robert Horvitz, David Koch Professor in the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Department of Biology and Nobel laureate in physiology or medicine; and Dr. Monika Schleier-Smith, associate professor of physics at Stanford University and 2020 MacArthur Genius Awardee. The panel was moderated by Joe Palca, science correspondent for National Public Radio.
According to the Society for Science, the Excellence in Science and Technology Panel enables students to hear directly from Nobel laureates and other esteemed members of the scientific community, allowing the greatest minds in science to answer the questions of the future.
ISEF is the world’s oldest and largest science competition with nearly 2,000 high school participants this year who represent more than 60 countries and territories.