Bangalore: Samantha Garvey, a 17 year old from Long Island, aspiring to become a marine biologist, qualified for the semi-finals of the national Intel Science competition, a $100,000 event that found her family receiving donations as well as rent-subsidized housing.

Garvey had conducted research for about two years on the effect of the Asian short crab which preys on the mussel population in a Long Island salt marsh. The mussels, after being subjected to a series of attacks over time, developed a thick skin of shell.

Her family had been evicted after her mother had been out of work for 8 months following a car accident, and her father, a cab-driver, could not support the payment of bills for housing on his salary alone especially since housing prices in Long Island are among the highest in the USA. Around 30 percent of their monthly income will now have to go in for the payment of their rent for a county-owned 3-bedroom house that was found for them nearby. The county commissioner of Social Services, Gregory Blass, said that since family was staying in a shelter, they were eligible to move into the house. He insisted that the family didn’t receive special preference because of Samantha’s new-found fame, and went on to say that the county places about 30 to 40 homeless families in apartments or homes.

The outpouring of help that came from all over the country was "unbelievable" said Leo Garvey, Samantha’s father. The Marriott Corporation will be donating "several thousand dollars" of furniture for the family to use said the county officials, in addition to the house.

The Intel contest’s finalists have gone on to occupy positions of great scientific importance since 1942, with seven of them moving on to become Nobel Prize winners.