WASHINGTON, Oct 19, 2015 -- The Siemens Foundation today announced the 2015 class of regional finalistsfor the Siemens Competition in Math, Science & Technology, the nation's premier research competition for high school students.

Ninety-seven regional finalists have been invited to advance to the next round of the competition, where they will vie for one of the most prestigious science honors awarded to high school students in the country today. These regional finalists were picked from an exceptional group of 466 semi-finalists that were announced on October 16. These semi-finalists presented projects that were considered outstanding and notable from a pool of nearly 1800 projects submitted this year.

"Today's regional finalists represents an outstanding group of students whose remarkable projects not only demonstrate a very advanced aptitude in STEM research but represent ideas that address some of today's most challenging issues," said David Etzwiler, CEO of the Siemens Foundation. "We congratulate the regional finalists on their accomplishments and wish them luck in the next phase of the competition."

The Siemens Competition, administered by Discovery Education, awards a $1000 scholarship to each regional finalist, in addition to one $3,000 prize to an individual winner and a$6,000 prize to a team winner at each regional competition.

Winners of the regional events will then advance to the National Finals at The George Washington University in Washington, D.C., December 6-8, 2015, where $500,000 in scholarships will be awarded, including two top prizes of $100,000.

A complete list of finalists and their projects is available at www.siemens-foundation.org preceding each regional event.