Sara Volz: First Place at the 2013 Science Talent Search

Biography

First on the 2013 list

The Society for Science's page for the Intel Science Talent Search 2013 gives the top ten in order, and Sara Volz is first. That single placement is the whole of the documented result, and it is documented by the organisation that ran the competition, which makes it as solid as a result gets.

The research record compiled for this page describes the Science Talent Search as the top high-school science prize in the United States. The listing makes no such claim about itself; it publishes an order and leaves the ranking to speak for itself. Anyone tracing the 2013 result to its source will find a name in first position and not a word of explanation beside it.

The project that is not on the page

What a science competition is actually judging is the research, and the research is exactly what the published listing omits. There is no project title against Volz's name, no abstract, no field, no laboratory and no award amount.

The research record behind this page reports her work as biofuel research involving algae, and flags the description as unconfirmed. It is carried here on the same terms. Algae biofuel was a busy area of student and academic research in the early 2010s, which makes the description plausible, and plausible is not the same as documented. No source used for this page states what Volz built, measured or concluded.

The ten

The 2013 order, as published, runs: Sara Volz first, Jonah Kallenbach second, Adam Bowman third, Hannah Larson fourth, Peter Kraft fifth, Kensen Shi sixth, Samuel Zbarsky seventh, Brittany Wenger eighth, Akshay Padmanabha ninth and Sahana Vasudevan tenth.

Ten names is a small and pointed shortlist, and the ranking within it is unusual: most science prizes for students name a winner and leave the rest of the finalists unordered. Publishing places two through ten records a full set of judgements rather than one, which is why the 2013 list is quoted so often even though it says nothing about any of the projects behind it.

What the listing certifies

A results page certifies an outcome and a date. It establishes that a panel assembled by the Society for Science placed Volz first among the finalists of the 2013 search, and it establishes nothing else: not what she studied, not how old she was, not where she went to school, not what the prize was worth.

The page itself now sits within the Society's section for the Regeneron Science Talent Search, the name the programme carries today, with the 2013 edition filed under Intel's sponsorship. The archive is maintained, in other words, but it is maintained as a register of names. Competitions document their verdicts; they do not document careers, and the gap between those two things is where most confident writing about prize winners goes wrong.

What is documented — and what is not

The firm fact is one and it is clean: first place in the Intel Science Talent Search 2013, published by the Society for Science, ahead of a named field of ten.

Everything else is open. No age or date of birth, no school, no photograph, no project title, no abstract and no award amount appears in the source used here. Colorado Springs and the algae biofuel description come from the research record and are unconfirmed. Nothing documents what Volz has done since 2013, and this page will not guess at it.

Achievement Timeline

Sara Volz — every milestone on this page, in order.

2013

Sara Volz is placed first in the IntelSara Volz is placed first in the Intel Science Talent Search

2013

Jonah Kallenbach is placed second and Jonah Kallenbach is placed second and Adam Bowman third in the same top ten

2013

The Society for Science publishes the The Society for Science publishes the ranked top ten as the record of the result

Historical Comparison

Person	Country	Milestone	Age / Stat
Sara Volz	United States	First place, Intel Science Talent Search 2013	—
Melissa Rey	United States	Grand prize, 2008 Discovery Education 3M Young Scientist Challenge	—
Jonah Kallenbach	United States	Second place, Intel Science Talent Search 2013	—
Victor Cai	United States	Second place, 2022 Regeneron Science Talent Search	—
Amber K Luo	United States	Third place, 2022 Regeneron Science Talent Search	—

What is documented — and what is not

✓ Documented

First place in the Intel Science Talent Search 2013 (Society for Science listing)
The 2013 top ten is published in rank order, with ten named finalists
Jonah Kallenbach is recorded second in the same list

? Unverified, disputed or wrong

No project title, abstract, field or award amount in the source
The algae biofuel description comes from the research record and is unconfirmed
No age, school, home town or photograph in the source
Nothing is documented about Volz after 2013

Questions people ask about Sara Volz

What did Sara Volz win?

First place in the Intel Science Talent Search 2013, as published by the Society for Science in its ranked list of the top ten.

What was her project?

The published listing does not say. The research record compiled for this page reports algae biofuel research and marks it unconfirmed.

How old is Sara Volz?

No source in this record gives an age or a date of birth. The listing carries names and placings only.

Where is Sara Volz from?

The research record gives Colorado Springs, Colorado. The Society for Science listing gives no home town for any of the ten.

How much prize money did she receive?

No award amount appears in the source used here.

Who else was in the 2013 top ten?

In order: Volz, Jonah Kallenbach, Adam Bowman, Hannah Larson, Peter Kraft, Kensen Shi, Samuel Zbarsky, Brittany Wenger, Akshay Padmanabha and Sahana Vasudevan.