By Jeanette Der Bedrosian, USA TODAY
Ten teenage super-scientists joined the ranks of former Nobel Prize winners and genius grant winners Tuesday night when they were awarded top honors at the Intel Science Talent Search.
The competition, the oldest and one of the best-known science competitions in the USA, for years has given scholarships to future experts who have gone on to win Nobels or MacArthur Foundation genius grants. This year's winners were seniors in high school who, in many cases, have made scientific breakthroughs and published research papers.
"This isn't just a fluke," says Wendy Hawkins, executive director of the sponsoring Intel Foundation. "These kids are the real deal."
Hawkins says the company views the sponsorship as an investment in the nation's top young scientists and a way to ensure they can afford the top universities for their field.
Eric Larson, 17, of Eugene, Ore., won the top prize, a $100,000 scholarship for his project classifying mathematical objects called fusion categories.
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"There are parts of science, especially parts of math, that are just beautiful. And the reason to do them is … because you can figure out why things are true," he said upon winning the competition.
Second-place winner William Sun, 17, of Chesterfield, Mo., has been interested in science for as long as he can remember. After watching Apollo 13 when he was 4 or 5, Sun dreamed of becoming the director of mission control, he says. Now, he's deciding between Harvard and Yale as he pursues an interest in studying infectious diseases.
For Philip Streich, 18, the third-place winner from Platteville, Wis., the competition's biggest prize was friendships developed over the six days in Washington, D.C., for the finals.
"I've made true friends, not just kids or connections," he says. "I've met people who I think I will stay in touch with in the future, hopefully to solve some of these daunting problems we're facing."
In addition to the scholarship prize, the 40 finalists also met President Obama and spoke with him about their research.
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