A 17-year-old New York City boy won a national science competition Tuesday for creating a sensor that detects exposure to toxic agents such as nerve gas.
David Bauer, a senior at Hunter College High School, earned a $100,000 college scholarship in the 2005 Intel Science Talent Search. He developed a way for rapidly detecting exposure to biochemical agents, with hopes that his discovery could be a lifesaver.
Bauer also was chosen by his peers for a separate award honoring the student who best personifies a commitment to scientific cooperation and communication. He plans to enroll at The City College of New York this fall and continue his studies in chemistry.
All of the other top 10 finishers won scholarships worth at least $20,000, while 30 other finalists won $5,000 scholarships.
A total of 1,600 high school seniors submitted entries in all disciplines of science, including physics, math, engineering, social science and biology.
An almost equal number of boys and girls entered the contest.
Timothy Credo of the Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy in Aurora, Ill., won second place. The 17-year-old from Highland Park, Ill., developed a more precise way to measure the velocity that particles travel in an accelerator. He won a $75,000 scholarship.
Kelley Harris, 17, of the C.K. McClatchy High School in Sacramento, Calif., won the third-place $50,000 scholarship for her research on proteins that bind DNA.
The other top winners, in order of finish, and their scholarships are:
- Robert Cordwell, 17, of Manzano High School in Albuquerque, N.M., $25,000
- Ryan Harrison, 17, of the Baltimore Polytechnic Institute in Maryland, $25,000.
- Lyra Creamer Haas, 17, of the Illinois Mathematics & Science Academy in Aurora, Ill., $25,000.
- Justin Kovac, 17, of Montgomery Blair High School in Silver Spring, Md., $20,000.
- Karl Plank, 17, of Squalicum High School in Bellingham, Wash., $20,000.
- James Cahill, 18, of Flagstaff High School in Flagstaff, Ariz., $20,000.
- Po-Ling Loh, 18, of James Madison High School in Madison, Wis., $20,000.
