Turpin Senior Earns National STEM Award

Turpin student, Hirak Basu, has been named a top 300 scholar in the 80th Regeneron Science Talent Search, one of the oldest and most prestigious science and mathematics competitions for high school seniors.

"I am beyond excited to be recognized as a top 300 scholar in the Regeneron Science Talent Search," Hirak said, "of course, I couldn't have done this myself. It was through the feedback of several judges of prior science fairs and the comments and support of Mrs. Berling, my freshman biology teacher, who wrote my educator recommendation letter in the application, that drove me forward. I could never have accomplished such a task without this generous support."

Hirak was selected from 1,760 students who entered from 611 high schools across 45 states, Washington, DC, Puerto Rico, and 10 countries. The Turpin High School senior will receive a $2,000 scholarship and THS will also receive $2,000 to use toward STEM-related activities.

“Hirak took the initiative to complete a project junior year outside of his regular course work to increase crop production with less water.  Hirak worked hard on this project, testing and re-testing, collecting data, and all for the love of science, not for a grade,” said Hirak’s teacher, Erin Berling.

The top 40 finalists will be announced on January 21st. If Hirak is named one of the 40 finalists, he would receive $25,000 and be invited to participate in the final competition. The top prize for the most promising emerging STEM leader in the country is $250,000.

“This really speaks to what great potential Hirak has, a future world ‘changer’. He saw a problem, came up with a potential solution, and put his mind to testing it. He is an amazing young man, and I am so lucky to have had the opportunity to work with him during his time at Turpin,” Berling said.