Teenager from Oklahoma Wins $100,000

At only 17 years of age, Mary Masterman has won $100,000 in scholarship money. How? By winning the Intel Science Search for developing an economic spectrograph which identifies the "coding" or "fingerprints" of molecules and atoms. Masterman is a senior at Westmoore High School in Oklahoma City, one of the 1,700 seniors across the country who participated in the annual science contest.

What spectrographs actually do is measure and record wavelengths, primarily used in research at universities. For example, spectrographs can measure the wavelengths coming from the sun, and in commerce, it is used to build contraptions such as microwaves and other wave emitting machines. They can detect nuclear weapons and other explosives as well.

Spectographs are usually around $100,000, but the one Masterman put together cost her "less than $1,000". Craig Barrett, Intel Corp. Chairman, honored Masterman at a banquet on Tuesday.

The projects of the 40 finalists were displayed in the National Institute of Science in Washington, where the final contestants met Vice President Dick Cheney.

Masterman stated that she has been interested in science ever since she was a little girl and happily thanks her parents for their encouragement. When she grows up she wants to become a chemist or physicist, but even now, a senior nearing her final days of high school, does not know where she wants to attend college. But that should not matter financially to her upon the honor of receiving a $100,000 scholarship.

The Intel Science Search has produced to this current day: six Nobel Laureates, three National Medal of Science winners, fifty-six Sloan Research Fellows, two field medalists, and ten McArthur Foundation Fellows.

Not just high school students participate in the science competition but so do undergraduate and graduate students at universities across the United States. To Masterman, winning the Intel Science Search award and competition has opened all sorts of doors to whichever field of science she chooses to major in.

$3.8 million worth of scholarships have been awarded to students since the competition began in 1942. To enter the competition, one needs to design a research project accompanied with an entirely original research paper. Test scores, letters of recommendation, high school transcripts, essays, and extracurricular activities are required in addition to the actual project and are often used to decide the winners as well.

All 40 of the finalists in Washington DC receive $5,000 in scholarships a piece and each an Intel-based computer.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intel_Science_Talent_Search
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/1501AP_Science_Award.html