Close
Menu

Maryland History Day

Every little bit helps the NCF to influence the cryptologic future by sharing our educational resources, stimulating new knowledge, and commemorating our heritage.

Eugene J. Becker Award for Excellence in Cybersecurity and Cryptology

Gene Becker

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 the special ceremony page and via his In Memoriam Registry page.

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.

  • Senior Division
    Senior Division

    Project 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 Liberg

    Photo: NCF Director of Marketing & Communications Christine Harding with Lillian Gwynn

  • Junior Division
    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 Coulby

    Photo: 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.

  • Senior Award Winners
    Senior Award Winners

    Project 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 Winners
    Junior Award Winners

    Project 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 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. Click to learn much more about the contest and all the winners.

  • Senior Level Winner
    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
    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. Click to see the full program.

  • Senior Level Winner
    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
    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. Click to see a full list of 2020 winners.

  • 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 Hetrick

    LETTER 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
    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." Click to see a full list of 2019 winners.

  • 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

SPECIAL NCF AWARDS

Learn about the special NCF awards presented to Maryland History Day contest participants.