As part of our workforce development strategy, PNNL STEM Education hosts several competitions throughout the year on behalf of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). These competitions allow high school and college students interested in STEM to gather and compete against students from across Washington State and the Pacific Northwest. Participants also have the opportunity to learn more about PNNL, the national laboratory system, and the array of STEM careers available.

Science Bowl: Each year, PNNL hosts a Regional High School Science Bowl, which is part of DOE’s nationwide academic competition, that tests students’ knowledge in all areas of science and mathematics. Students are quizzed on topics ranging from chemistry and biology to physics, engineering, math, and energy, as well as Earth and space sciences. Friends, family members, and the general public are welcome to attend and watch these incredible students demonstrate their knowledge in this array of subjects. High school teams from across Washington State convene to compete against each other and earn the opportunity to compete at the National Science Bowl® (NSB). The DOE’s Office of Science manages the NSB, which began in 1991, and sponsors the finals competition.

CyberForce Competition is a fun, real-world, scenario-based contest for college and university teams to test their “mad” cybersecurity skills by protecting and defending an industrial control system and its associated corporate network infrastructure. PNNL hosts this DOE competition, which encourages innovative defense strategies and techniques for safeguarding cyber assets. Teams are scored on their “out-of-the-box” ideas and defenses. These defenses must contend with the real-world limitations provided in the scenario, such as having no budget.