Students from California and Massachusetts win DOE’s 36th Annual National Science Bowl®

On May 4, 2026, students from Mission San Jose High School in Fremont, Calif., won the high school competition for the 2026 DOE National Science Bowl® (NSB). In the middle school competition, students from William Diamond Middle School in Lexington, Mass., took home first place.

“Congratulations to the winners of the 2026 National Science Bowl, and to every student who competed this week,” said Secretary Wright. "When I was a young kid, I fell in love with science. That curiosity took me to MIT, drove me to build companies, and ultimately led me to dedicate my career to bettering human lives through energy. The students in this competition have that same spark. They are the future engineers, scientists, and entrepreneurs who will keep America at the forefront of innovation, and events like this remind me that the next generation is more than ready for that challenge. America’s greatest resource has always been its people, and these students prove that our future is in very good hands.”

The top two high school teams emerged victorious from a field of 68 high school regional winners that competed in the finals competition. The NSB Finals ran from April 30 to May 4.

ORISE staff supported event logistics such as coordinating travel and lodging for all attendees (including all 116 teams); collecting and verifying all required documentation; and developing questions for the competition. In a year long process leading up to the event, ORISE managed the purchasing, packing, and shipping of event and outreach materials. 

The ORISE team also oversaw the competition on-site at the Lisner Auditorium at George Washington University in Washington, D.C. and provided technical support for the NSB scoring website. This website, which is part of the Workforce Development for Teachers and Scientists Application and Review System (WARS) developed by ORISE, was used to announce the winners in both the round robin and double elimination portions of the finals event. The on-site ORISE support team managed WARS to deliver real-time team results that were shared across several monitors positioned around the event location. This setup allowed teams and their families to follow along, as well as track the double elimination portion using a custom-built, March-madness-style bracket.

The NSB annually draws more than 10,000 middle and high school competitors. Since the first competition in 1991, approximately 360,000 students have faced off in the NSB Finals. The knowledge that former competitors have acquired and, more importantly, the collaborative skills and study habits that they learned along the way have led them to successes in a variety of fields. 

Read the full press release on DOE’s website. Photos from the event are also available on Flickr.