A total of 118 Nevada students, 45 Nevada National Security Sites (NNSS) volunteers and hundreds of advanced STEM-based trivia questions comprised the 34th annual Nevada Science Bowl Feb. 1 at the College of Southern Nevada in North Las Vegas.
Davidson Academy – Team A took top honors ($5,000 cash prize for their school’s math and science departments) and will represent Nevada at the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) National Science Bowl in Washington, D.C., April 24 to 28. Davidson Academy – Team B placed second ($3,000 cash prize), and Coral Academy of Science – Sandy Ridge came in third ($1,500 cash prize). This is the sixth year in a row Davidson Academy won the Nevada Science Bowl.
Each year more than 15,000 students compete nationally for the opportunity to represent their school at the DOE National Science Bowl. During Nevada Science Bowl, NNSS leaders imparted the importance of high school students’ pursuit of a STEM education and how the NNSS can serve as a pathway for a meaningful career contributing to national security.
“STEM is such a critical part of what we need for our nation and the world,” said National Nuclear Security Administration Nevada Field Office Manager Betty Huck. “Keep going, keep changing, keep creating, keep innovating, keep coming up with the ways to make this world a better place — because that’s what STEM does.”
“In the Department of Energy, you can make a big impact on our nation very early in your career,” added NNSS Chief of Staff Brent Baker. “I encourage you to think about a career supporting the Department of Energy, specifically within the national security work we do at the NNSS. There’s real opportunity there.”
Sponsors of the 2025 Nevada Science Bowl include the U.S. Department of Energy National Nuclear Security Administration Nevada Field Office (signature sponsor), Mission Support and Test Services LLC, and Environmental Management Nevada Environmental Program Services.
“At the Nevada National Security Sites, in the last year, our intellectual properties — our patents, our copyrights, our software — have resulted in the creation of four businesses that will hire employees and solve peoples’ problems to make the world a better place,” NNSS Technical Manager Matt Fritz told students. “I am so optimistic for the future of our STEM staff because of what I see here every single year. Whether you become a scientist, manager, president of a company, CEO, entrepreneur or politician, please don’t ever forget that your role in science and technology is helping solve problems for the benefit of people. If you do that, the world will be a much better place. I’m very optimistic about the future in your hands.”
