Intel Chairman Craig R. Barrett to Receive the National Science Board’s Public Service Award

In 1998, Craig R. Barrett set the tone for his style of leadership in his very first act as chief executive of the computer giant, the Intel Corporation. Barrett, now Intel’s chairman, and a materials scientist with a Ph.D. from Stanford University, announced that Intel would become chief sponsor of the prestigious Science Talent Search, a 65-year-old nationwide competition among high school seniors many call the “junior Nobel,” formerly supported by Westinghouse.

Barrett led the program into a new generation with his own passion for education, initiating large increases in scholarship awards and other prizes to the winners. Under Barrett, Intel has increased monetary awards for the Science Talent Search. The top scholarship was raised to $100,000, and laptops are provided to the 40 finalists. And to help encourage interest in science, engineering and mathematics, Intel added a $1,000 prize for each of the 300 semifinalists, and $1,000 to each of the schools these students represent.

Today, the National Science Board honored Barrett with its 2006 Public Service Award for his leadership in science and engineering policy and for spearheading education programs that provide impetus for a new generation of science, technology, engineering and mathematics professionals. Barrett will accept the honor at a May 9 awards dinner at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History in Washington, D.C. The Science Board also named renowned actor, director, producer and PBS television science program host Alan Alda for an individual 2006 Public Service Award and the Association of Science-Technology Centers (ASTC), a major supporter and representative of science centers and museums worldwide, for an organizational award.