Three Indo-American teenagers are amongst the 40 finalists chosen in the prestigious Intel Science Talent Search competition. The finalists will compete for more than $530,000 in scholarships and prizes when they assemble at the Science Talent Institute in Washington, D.C.

One of the finalists is Sheela Krishnan, 17, of New York who had researched the antimicrobial activity of over 1,000 bacterial isolates from the honey sacs of honeybees. Her two-year study included Paenibacillus larvae, which causes the American Foulbrood Disease, a very virulent and fatal bacterial disease that devastates bee farms worldwide.

Sukrit Ranjan, 18, of Illinois, had examined polar cloud formation on Mars in his ‘Earth and Planetary Science’ project. His computer analysis of data collected by the Mars Orbiting Laser Altimeter (MOLA) was contrary to prevailing thought.

Meanwhile Kiran Reddy Pendri, 17, of Connecticut, synthesized a new type of organic compound through macrocyclization. He believes his research could contribute to manufacturing chemicals and pharmaceuticals in an efficient and environmentally friendly way.

The top prize in the Intel STS is a $100,000 college scholarship followed by a $75,000 scholarship and a $50,000 scholarship for second and third place respectively.
The competition lasts from March 9th-14th, 2006 where the contestants will interact with top scientists and participate in rigorous judging sessions.