Broadcom Foundation and Society for Science & the Public today announced that Alaina Gassler, 14, of West Grove, Pennsylvania, won the coveted $25,000 Samueli Foundation Prize, the top award in the Broadcom MASTERS^®, the nation’s premier science and engineering competition for middle school students.  

The Broadcom MASTERS (Math, Applied Science, Technology, and Engineering for Rising Stars), a program of the Society for Science & the Public, inspires middle school students to follow their personal passions to exciting college and career pathways in STEM. The thirty finalists took home more than $100,000 in awards. 

Alaina Gassler, 14, West Grove, Pennsylvania, won the $25,000 Samueli Foundation Prize, for her project reducing blind spots in cars and her exemplary performance during the Broadcom MASTERS’s hands-on challenges. The prize is a gift of Dr. Henry Samueli, Chairman of the Board, Broadcom Inc., and Chair of the Broadcom Foundation and his wife, Dr. Susan Samueli, President of the Samueli Foundation.

Rachel Bergey, 14, Harleysville, Pennsylvania, won the $10,000 Lemelson Award for Invention, awarded by The Lemelson Foundation to a young inventor creating promising solutions to real-world problems. Rachel developed a trap made of tinfoil and netting for the Spotted Lanternfly, an invasive species causing damage to trees in Pennsylvania.

Sidor Clare, 14, Sandy, Utah, won the $10,000 Marconi/Samueli Award for Innovation, an honor made possible by Samueli’s generous donation of his 2012 Marconi Society Prize Award.  Sidor developed bricks that could one day be made on Mars, so that humans would not be required to bring building materials with us in order to build there.

Alexis MacAvoy, 14, Hillsborough, California, won the $10,000 Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Award for Health Advancement, which recognizes the student whose work and performance shows the most promise in health-related fields and demonstrates an understanding of the many social factors that affect health. Alexis designed a water filter using carbon to remove heavy metals from water.

Lauren Ejiaga, 14, New Orleans, Louisiana, won the $10,000 STEM Talent Award, sponsored by DoD STEM, for demonstrating excellence in science, technology, engineering or math, along with the leadership and technical skills necessary to excel in the 21^st Century STEM workforce and build a better community for tomorrow. Lauren’s research focused on how current levels of ultraviolet light from the sun due to ozone depletion impacts plant growth and performance.

Read the press release

Meet the  2019 Finalists

Download the Finalist book

View the Top 300 MASTERS

See the full list of 2019 Entrants

Broadcom MASTERS winners were chosen from the 30 finalists (18 girls and 12 boys) selected from 2,348 applicants in 47 states. Winners were selected by a panel of distinguished scientists, engineers and educators. Each finalist’s school will receive $1,000 from the Broadcom MASTERS to benefit their science program.

In addition to the top prizes, the Broadcom Foundation and the Society also announced first and second place winners in each of the STEM categories of Science, Technology, Engineering and Math, the Team Award and two Rising Stars who will be the U.S. delegates at the Broadcom MASTERS International and official observers to International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF).

In order to compete in Broadcom MASTERS, a student must first compete in a Society-affiliated science fair around the country. Each year, the top 10% of 6th, 7th, and 8th grade participants are nominated to enter this competition. Visit our Find a Fair page to locate a Broadcom MASTERS fair near you!

2019 Dates

February 1, 2019
Broadcom MASTERS application open to nominees

June 12, 2019 8:00 PM ET
Broadcom MASTERS application closes

September 4, 2019, 12:00 PM ET
Top 300 MASTERS Announcement

September 18, 2019, 12:00 PM ET
Finalist Announcement

October 25- October 30, 2019
Broadcom MASTERS finals week competition

October 26, 2019, 1:00 PM - 4:00 PM ET
Broadcom MASTERS Science and Engineering Project Showcase

Broadcom supports project based learning to encourage students to enter STEM careers.