Organizing an international science fair for 1,500 of the
planet’s most brilliant teen scientists was no easy task for San
Martin resident Dana Ditmore, but the end result will leave a
lasting legacy on Silicon Valley.
Organizing an international science fair for 1,500 of the planet’s most brilliant teen scientists was no easy task for San Martin resident Dana Ditmore, but the end result will leave a lasting legacy on Silicon Valley.
This year’s Intel International Science and Engineering Fair, hosted in San Jose, has been five years in the making. When Ditmore accepted a volunteer position as the fair’s president back in 2005, he faced the daunting task of raising about $3 million, but he couldn’t refuse, he said.
“It’s the Olympics of high school science fairs,” he said.
A self-declared “math and science man,” Ditmore, 70, is a longtime South County resident with decades of experience in the Valley’s semiconductor industry. A senior executive at Applied Materials for nearly 20 years, Ditmore has now served as president of a consulting firm since 1996.
As he watches public schools cut back educational programs and unqualified teachers assigned to instruct math and science class, he is reminded of the importance of STEM – science, technology, engineering and math – education.
“The education of young people is the promise for the future,” Ditmore said. “STEM education provides the building blocks for a college education. This is about building for the future and investing in the young people who will become the entrepreneurs who will lead us into the next generation of innovation.”
The fair, in its 62nd year, will draw students from more than 50 countries who will compete for more than $3 million in awards and scholarships, Ditmore said. The annual event is the world’s largest pre-college science fair and has been held in cities across the nation. Major sponsors include Google, Cisco and Applied Materials. The competition’s 17 categories include areas such as energy, transportation, environmental science, medicine, health sciences and chemistry.
For the past five years, Ditmore has worked alongside local volunteers to recruit 1,000 Ph.D.-level judges, secure facilities in downtown San Jose and arrange for 2,200 local students to be bussed to the fair on Thursday – the only day the fair will be open to the public.
Ascencion Solorsano Middle School science teacher Dawn O’Connor plans to take 50 of her students to the event.
“I’m excited for my kids because they’ll get to interview the contestants,” O’Connor said. “It’s like the Nobel Prize.”
Later this month, O’Connor will send three of her students to compete in the state science fair in Los Angeles. In March, her students thrived in the county’s Synopsys Silicon Valley Science and Technology Championship and garnered the coveted Outstanding Middle School Award for the fourth year in a row. This year, Solorsano sent 52 participants with 41 projects. O’Connor’s students also brought home dozens of additional awards.
O’Connor said she hopes to see some of her award winning scientists selected as participants in the international fair when they are old enough to compete.
“It’s my passion,” she said of her program.
Passion is what drives the massive volunteer effort as well, Ditmore said.
“It’s amazing the amount of dedicated people that have a common interest,” he said. “We want to leave a legacy.”
