It's All About The Science

A homeschooled youngster has taken gold in a national science competition:

A 16-year-old, homeschooled California boy won a premier high school science competition Monday for his innovative approach to an old math problem that could help in the design of airplane wings.

Michael Viscardi, a senior from San Diego, won a $100,000 college scholarship, the top individual prize in the Siemens Westinghouse Competition in Math, Science and Technology.

Viscardi tackled a 19th century math problem and his new method of solving it has potential applications in the fields of engineering and physics.

"He is a super-duper mathematics student," said lead judge Constance Atwell, a consultant and former research director at the National Institutes of Health. "It was almost impossible for our judges to figure out the limits of his understanding during our questioning. And he's only 16 years old," she said.

Anne Lee, 17, a senior at Phoenix Country Day School in Paradise Valley, Ariz. and Albert Shieh, 16, a junior at Chaparral High School in Scottsdale, Ariz., shared the $100,000 top prize in the team category. They improved computer technology that could help locate the genetic roots of some inherited diseases like Alzheimer's, autism and bipolar disorder.

Nineteen students competed in the national finals six individuals and six teams. All won scholarships ranging from $10,000 to $100,000. Team members share awards.

The competition was sponsored by the Siemens Foundation.

I wonder what these kids' college plans are? I guess they're going anywhere they want.

It's good to see hard work rewarded. ---------------------------Submissions for The Carnival Of Education are due by 6:00 PM (Pacific) tonight. Get entry instructions here. Visit last week's midway right here. See our latest posts, over there.