As many as 2,000 young scientists will descend on the Valley in May when Phoenix plays host to the world's largest science fair, the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF).

According to the Business Journal, the "world's largest pre-college science competition" will showcase between 1,500 and 2,000 students from around the world. The participants, ages 12 to 19, will be chosen through a series of local and regional science competitions, and will be determined as late as March 2005. They will compete in 14 categories for high-stakes intellectual prizes--more than $3 million in college scholarship money.

Officials expect more than 5,000 attendants to wander among the displays at Phoenix Civic Plaza, which was selected in 2000 as next year's host. In addition, 7,000 Valley schoolchildren will take field trips to the fair on May 12.

"I think this can be a lightning rod to excite the community about science," Rama Krishna told the Business Journal. Krishna, a professor from the School of Life Sciences at Arizona State University, sits on the executive committee of the ISEF.

The 55-year-old event could have up to $10 million worth of economic impact on the Phoenix area, according to the Business Journal. One of the lasting legacies of the science fair will be a science education foundation. The fair, budgeted at $2.2 million, has raised nearly $1 million from corporate sponsors, and is still in search of the remaining support from Valley businesses.

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More information:

"International science fair could have $10M state impact," Business Journal, 9/13/2004