The Santa Fe Institute was pleased to present its annual Prizes for Scientific Excellence and Prize for Outstanding Teacher at a ceremony and reception on May 1, 2008.

Graduating seniors from Santa Fe's public and private secondary schools who demonstrated excellence and achievement in math and science throughout the 2007/2008 school year were nominated by their teachers for special recognition. The students each received a $1,000 check, an award certificate, and an inscribed copy of "The Quark and the Jaguar," authored by Murray Gell-Mann, Nobel Laureate in Physics and SFI Distinguished Fellow.

This year's recipient of the Prize for Outstanding Teacher was Carlos Santistevan from the New Mexico Academy for Sciences and Mathematics. The Prize for Outstanding Teacher includes a $,1000 check and an award certificate.

Please join the Santa Fe Institute in extending our congratulations to our student and teacher honorees.

From left to right:  Geoffrey West, SFI President and Distinguished Professor; Murray Gell-Mann, SFI Distinguished Fellow and Trustee; Marie Atterbury, St. Michael’s High School; Ellie Powell, Santa Fe High School; Robert Migliori, Capital High School; Max Bennett, Santa Fe Waldorf High School; Sarah Cantor, New Mexico Academy for Sciences and Mathematics; Carlos Santistevan, Teacher Award Recipient, New Mexico Academy for Sciences and Mathematics; Alexander Blair, Monte del Sol Charter School; Veronica Weser, Academy for Technology and the Classics; Ben Goldsmith, Santa Fe Preparatory School; Clifford Richardson, SER Career Academy; Daniel Pedro, Santa Fe Indian School; Robert Eisenstein, Director, Santa Fe Alliance for Science.  Not pictured: Margaret Rose Leitner, Desert Academy. Photo courtesy of Ana June, New Mexico Free Press.