RENO, Nev. — What happens in Reno doesn’t stay in Reno, and some high school students are very pleased about that. On May 15, three top finalists at the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair hit the jackpot, each winning a $50,000 scholarship from the Intel Foundation. Those prizes were part of nearly $4 million in scholarships, tuition grants and scientific trips and equipment awarded at the world’s largest high-school science competition.
![Li Boynton, 17, of Houston; Tara Adiseshan, 14, of Charlottesville, Va.; and Olivia Schwob, 16, of Boston were the top three winners of the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair 2009. Each received a $50,000 scholarship from the Intel Foundation.](https://i0.wp.com/www.sciencenews.org/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/10438.jpg?resize=300%2C225&ssl=1)
Olivia Schwob of Boston won for her experiments that helped the roundworm Caenorhabditis elegans learn better. Previous work had shown that a protein known as GAP-43 was important in learning in humans. Schwob thought this protein might improve learning in the lowly roundworm, so she introduced GAP-43 into the roundworm’s DNA. When worms with the protein received a positive or negative stimulus, they changed their behavior; worms without the protein did not. The work may help in gaining a better understanding of learning disabilities in humans.
Li Boynton of Houston also won a top prize, for developing a technique that uses the bioluminescent bacterium Vibrio fischeri to detect environmental contaminants. Boynton exposed the bacterium to several pollutants, such as the herbicide atrazine, and correlated the extent of the bacterium’s glow to the level of contaminant. The relationship could supply a quick and cheap method for detecting pollutants in water.