Kiran Reddy Pendri, 17, of South Glastonbury, Connecticut, is one of the the 40 finalists for the Intel Science Talent Search competition. The other two Indian American finalists are Sukrit Ranjan, 18, of Northbrook, Illinois and Sheela Krishnan, 17, of Suffern, New York. Their photos were not available by press time. (Photo as it appears on www.tlca.com)

Three Indian American high school students were among 40 finalists to be narrowed down for this year's Intel Science Talent Searchcompetition, Intel STS Web site announced on Jan. 25. Selected from 300 semifinalists, Kiran Reddy Pendri, Sukrit Ranjan and Sheela Krishnan are in the race for more than $530,000 in scholarships and prizes. The finalists will meet at the Science Talent Institute in Washington, D.C., March 9-14 where they will interact with top scientists and participate in rigorous judging sessions.

The 40 teenagers represent 19 states, with New York boasting the most finalists (13) followed by Maryland with four, and California and Illinois with three each. This year's diverse group of finalists, 17 females and 23 males, includes two patent holders, a published author, a certified medical response technician, a spelunker and three Eagle Scouts. In addition to a pursuit of scientific excellence, 76 percent of this year's finalists play a musical instrument, 63 percent are fluent in a language other than English, 41 percent work on their school newspapers, and five students have perfect scores on the new three-part Scholastic Aptitude Test.

The top prize in the Intel STS is a $100,000 college scholarship. The second-place finalist receives a $75,000 scholarship, and the third-place finalist receives a $50,000 scholarship. Fourth- through sixth-place finalists are each awarded $25,000 scholarships, and seventh- through 10th-place winners receive a $20,000 scholarship. The remaining 30 finalists each receive a $5,000 scholarship. In addition to the all-expense-paid trip to Washington, all students attending the competition receive an Intel® Centrino TM mobile technology-based notebook computer. Winners will be announced at a black tie gala on March 14.

Kiran Reddy Pendri, 17, of South Glastonbury, Connecticut, synthesized a new type of organic compound, a novel macrocyclic alkene dithiolactone for his Intel Science Talent Search project in chemistry. Building on recent Noble Prize-winning research in chemistry, Kiran's efforts utilize macrocyclization, which is a Ring-Closing Olefin Metathesis reaction that allows for the creation of a mid-sized molecular ring that serves as a precursor for the synthesis of large-ring alkenes. He believes his research could contribute to manufacturing chemicals and pharmaceuticals in an efficient and environmentally friendly way. Kiran is the son of Drs. Yadagiri and Annapurna Pendri. He attends Choate Rosemary Hall in Wallingford, where he is coxswain of the varsity crew, serves on the judicial committee, and is a member of the Choate Indian Association and the varsity math team. A member of an investment club, Kiran has been investing since he was 10 years old. The recipient of many English, math and science honors, he achieved perfect SAT scores in critical reading, math and writing. Kiran hopes to study chemistry at Harvard or Princeton to prepare for a career in scientific research in industry or academia.

Sheela Krishnan, 17, of Suffern, New York, researched the antimicrobial activity of over 1,000 bacterial isolates from the honey sacs of honeybees (Apis mellifera) against seven pathogens for her Intel Science Talent Search project in microbiology. Her two-year study included Paenibacillus larvae, which causes American Foulbrood Disease (AFB) - the most virulent and fatal bacterial disease that devastates bee farms worldwide. She identified the most effective bacterial isolates and combined them into a probiotic cocktail for preventative therapy against AFB. This novel research on antimicrobial compounds may lead to the production of a broad spectrum of new antibacterial and antifungal compounds for combating multidrug-resistant diseases. Sheela attends Suffern High School where she co-founded the Model UN and is concert mistress of the orchestra. Trained in Indian classical music, she performs both Carnatic and Hindustani variations. Her interest in honey was ignited after visiting India her freshman year, when her grandfather informed her of its natural health benefits. The daughter of Drs. Raghavan and Lalitha Krishnan, she hopes to pursue a career as a physician.

Sukrit Ranjan, 18, of Northbrook, Illinois, examined polar cloud formation on Mars in his earth and planetary science project for the Intel Science Talent Search. His computer analysis of surface topography data collected by the Mars Orbiting Laser Altimeter (MOLA), launched aboard the 1996 Mars Global Surveyor, was contrary to prevailing thought. Although it had been theorized that most clouds form only over the planet's eastern slopes, Sukrit found that while this was true in the northern hemisphere, it was not true in the southern hemisphere where clouds form on the western slopes. He believes that understanding cloud formation and past water distribution on Mars may provide insight to future climate changes that could occur on Earth. The two-year president of the space science club GADGET at Glenbrook North High School, Sukrit helped increase membership through outreach workshops. He has a passion for math competitions and mentors fellow forensics competitors. Born in India, Sukrit is fluent in Hindi. Also fluent in Spanish, he has been honored by the governor as an adult literacy tutor. The son of Rajiv Ranjan and Sangeeta Prasad, he hopes to study physics at MIT or Caltech. (Compiled from Intel Website by Priyanka Mehra)