His guidance counselor also encouraged Vale to submit his work to the Westinghouse Science Talent Search (now the Regeneron Science Talent Search), where he was selected as one of the top 40 students in the US.
Konselor pembimbingnya juga mendorong Vale untuk mengajukan penelitiannya ke Pencarian Bakat Sains Westinghouse (sekarang bernama Pencarian Bakat Sains Regeneron) dan ia terpilih sebagai satu dari 40 besar di Amerika Serikat.