Maryland History Day
Eugene J. Becker Award for Excellence in Cybersecurity and Cryptology
In late 2018, the National Cryptologic Foundation (then NCMF) established the Eugene J. Becker Award for Excellence in Cybersecurity and Cryptology for the Maryland History Day Contest with the Maryland Humanities Council (MDHC). This annual statewide contest involves over 450 students, 85 judges, plus parents and teachers. The winners go on to represent Maryland at the National History Day contest in June.
During the contest, there are categories for Junior and Senior school participants. Judges have guidelines for a variety of subjects, including the Foundation’s special award topics such as cryptology, innovation, and cybersecurity.
Gene had a distinguished career in intelligence, and along with a few other pioneers was instrumental in guiding the Foundation during its early days. He served as the Foundation’s president from 2006 to 2014. Even after retiring from his position as president, Gene remained involved and connected with the Museum and Foundation. He passed away in June 2018, but will always be remembered.
A special ceremony was held in October 2018 to honor Gene and the donations made in his honor. His family and friends requested that the donations be directed toward education endeavors. Learn more about Gene via his In Memoriam Registry page.
2025 Eugene Becker Award Winners
CONGRATULATIONS to the winners of the 2025 Eugene J. Becker Award for Excellence in Cybersecurity and Cryptology (see below). Photos of winners – coming soon. Students submitted projects, papers, and presentations, and the award ceremony was held on 3 May. The National History Day competition will be held in June.
The theme for this year’s event was “Rights & Responsibilities in History.” As always, the Maryland History Day competition was filled with inspiring, talented, and impressive young minds. We are honored to present these special awards to the winners.
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Senior DivisionStudent: Chloe Chang
Award: Eugene J. Becker Award for Excellence in Cyber Security and Cryptology
Title: Making WAVES: The First Women’s Reserve in the Navy
Category: Senior Individual Website
School: Poolesville High School
Teacher: Stephanie Gomer -
Junior DivisionStudent: Anna Hao
Award: Eugene J. Becker Award for Excellence in Cyber Security and Cryptology
Title: Code Girls: The American Women Who Broke Codes in World War II
Category: Junior Individual Exhibit
School: The Bryn Mawr School
Teacher: Matthew HetrickPhoto: Anna Hao with Frank Whetsell, NCF
2024 Eugene Becker Award Winners
CONGRATULATIONS to the winners of the 2024 Eugene J. Becker Award for Excellence in Cybersecurity and Cryptology (see below). Students submitted projects, papers, and presentations, and the award ceremony was held on 4 May. The National History Day competition will be held in June.
The theme for this year’s event was “Turning Points in History.” As always, the Maryland History Day competition was filled with inspiring, talented, and impressive young minds. We are honored to present these special awards to the winners.
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Senior DivisionProject Title: “The Rosetta Stone’s Impact”
Category: Senior Paper
Student: Lillian Gwynn
School: Saint Mary’s Ryken High School, St. Mary’s County
Teacher: Leif LibergPhoto: The NCF Director of Marketing & Communications Christine Harding with Lillian Gwynn
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Junior Division
Project Title: “The 1956 Dartmouth Conference: A Pivotal Turning Point in the History of Artificial Intelligence”
Category: Junior Paper
Student: Marcellus White
School: Piccowaxen Middle School, Charles County
Teacher: Christine CoulbyPhoto: The NCF Director of Marketing & Communications Christine Harding with Marcellus White
2023 Eugene Becker Award Winners
CONGRATULATIONS to the winners of the 2023 Eugene J. Becker Award for Excellence in Cybersecurity and Cryptology (see below). Students submitted projects, papers, and presentations and the award ceremony was held on 5 May. The National History Day competition will be held in June.
The theme for this year’s event was “Frontiers in History: People, Places, and Ideas.” As always, the Maryland History Day competition was packed with creative, inspiring, and talented young minds. We are honored to present these special awards to the winners.
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Senior Award WinnersProject Title: The Internet: Crossing the Frontier into a New Age of Networking
Category: Senior Group
Student: Alexander Sleeman and Javesh Sood
School: Mount Saint Joseph High School
Teacher: Ryan Folmer -
Junior Award WinnersProject Title: Codemaking, Codebreaking, and the Evolution of Secret Writing
Category: Junior Group
Students: Ben Godoy, Liam Umberger, Luca Petroni
School: Newport Mill Middle School
Teacher: Matthew Baldassano
Photo: Students Ben Godoy and Liam Umberger with the NCF Communications Director Christine Harding
2022 Eugene Becker Award Winners
CONGRATULATIONS to the winners of the 2022 Eugene J. Becker Award for Excellence in Cybersecurity and Cryptology (see below). The 2022 Maryland History Day event took place online. Students submitted projects, papers, and presentations and the award ceremony was held virtually on 1 May. The National History Day competition will be held in June.
The theme for this year’s event was “Debate & Diplomacy in History: Successes, Failures, Consequences.” As always, the Maryland History Day competition was packed with creative, inspiring, and talented young minds. We are honored to present these special awards to the winners.
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Senior Level Winner
Project Title: Phishing for the Truth: The Budapest Convention on Cybercrime
Category: Senior Paper
Student: Aleah Dinmore
School: Arundel High School
Teacher: Michael Yuscavage -
Junior Level Winners
Project Title: Navajo Code Talkers
Category: Junior Group Website
Students: Juliann Cook and Elizabeth Darling
School: Centreville Middle School
Teacher: Thomas Hayman
2021 Eugene Becker Award Winners
CONGRATULATIONS to the winners of the 2021 Eugene J. Becker Award for Excellence in Cybersecurity and Cryptology (see below). Due to the Coronavirus (COVID-19) global pandemic, the 2021 Maryland History Day event took place digitally with no in-person competition. Students submitted projects, papers, and presentations and the award ceremony was held virtually. The National History Day competition will be held in June.
The theme for this year’s event was “Communication in History.” As always, the Maryland History Day competition was packed with inventive, inspiring, and talented young minds. We are honored to present these special awards to the students.
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Senior Level Winner
Project Title: Morse Code: Communication Without a Voice
Category: Senior Individual Exhibit
Student: Grayson Peoples
School: Mount Saint Joseph High School
Teacher: Ryan Folmer -
Junior Level Winners
Project Title: “Code Talkers: The Secret Language that Won the War”
Category: Junior Group Documentary
Students: Emily Notobartolo, Kayla Hawbecker
School: Smithsburg Middle School
Teacher: Robert Smith
2020 Eugene Becker Award Winners
CONGRATULATIONS to the winners of the 2020 Eugene J. Becker Award for Excellence in Cybersecurity and Cryptology (see below). Due to the Coronavirus (COVID-19) global pandemic, the 2020 Maryland History Day event took place digitally with no in-person competition. Students submitted projects, papers, and presentations and the award ceremony was held virtually. The National History Day competition will also be held virtually between June 14-18, 2020.
The theme for this year’s event was “Breaking Barriers.” As always, the Maryland History Day competition was packed with inventive, inspiring, and talented young minds. We are honored to present these special awards to the students.
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Title: Beyond the Beauty: How Hedy Lamarr Engineered Society
Details: Click to see a video of the presentation online.
Category: Senior Group Documentary
Students: Astri Doub, Jaimie Griffin, Elizabeth O’Brien
School: The Bryn Mawr School
Teacher: Matthew HetrickLETTER FROM THE WINNERS TO THE NCMF:
Thank you so much for sponsoring the National History Eugene J. Becker Award for Excellence in Cybersecurity and Cryptology! We were so honored to win the award for our documentary on Hedy Lamarr and her development of spread spectrum technology. We found Lamarr such a fascinating person because while she was developing technologies that are still relied upon today, in her movies, she perpetuated the stereotype that a woman’s worth is determined by her beauty. This project has changed the way we examine the technology we use and also the danger with the women we choose to hold up as role models in our society, and we are so grateful to have gotten recognized for it!
Sincerely,
Astri Doub, Jaimie Griffin, Elizabeth O’Brien -
Junior Level Winners
Title: Code Breaking at Midway
Category: Junior Group Documentary
Students: Jack Harburger, Antione Sylvia
School: The Mount Washington School
Teacher: Ryan Kaiser
2019 Eugene Becker Award Winners
CONGRATULATIONS to the winners of the 2019 Eugene J. Becker Award for Excellence in Cybersecurity and Cryptology (see below). 2019 was the first year for the Eugene Becker Award and we were honored to present it to two very deserving students. The 2019 Maryland History Day event took place on 11 May, and as always, the competition was packed with the most inspiring, innovative, and talented young minds. The theme for the 2019 event was “Triumph and Tragedy.”
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Students: Jeffrey Fisher, David Oduneye (pictured here with NCMF Vice President Orville Lewis)
Topic: Government Subservience: The Snowden Files
Category: Senior Group Website
School: Parkville High School
County: Baltimore County
Teacher: Adam Laye
