WHIZ KID: Andrew Mulligan

As a precocious 2-year-old, Andrew Mulligan became known as "The Mayor of Cockeysville."

"Andrew would just always walk into a room and say 'Hello' to all of the mothers and their kids," his mother Angela Mulligan said. "The other kids' heads would be buried in their mother's laps, and he would come walking in and say, 'Hello, Mrs. Whoever, and how are you today?' He's always known how to work a room."

As the winner in the physics category in this year's Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics Fair sponsored by the Baltimore County Public School system, Mulligan was about to display his smarts. 

It was around 2 p.m. on Thursday afternoon when Warren principal Sue Eisenhart borrowed Andrew Mulligan, 10, from his fourth-grade math class for an interview with Cockeysville Patch. 

"Do you need any notes for this interview?" Eisenhart asked. 

"No," said Mulligan, before pressing an index fingers against his temple. "It's all up here."

This response didn't surprise Eisenhart one bit. 

"Andrew is very comfortable talking with adults. He is very articulate. So when you talk with Andrew, he's not necessarily a typical fourth-grader in that respect," Eisenhart said. "Andrew has lots of background knowledge because his parents have really done a great job of providing him with experiences that have built his foundation."

This is especially true when it comes to the subject of climate change. Mulligan's winning science project is entitled "Watt's Up With The Heat?"

"It's spelled W-A-T-T-S rather than W-H-A-T-S, and I made that title because in my experiment, I tested three different types of watt bulbs -- 60, 75 and 100," Mulligan said.

And he sure learned a lot. 

 "I found that the 100-watt bulb produced the most heat because it produces the most electricity." Mulligan said. "Global warming is speeding up because of things like light bulbs. So even though 60-watt bulbs don't give as much light to a room, they're better for our earth."

Mulligan said using 60-watt bulbs is not so much a compromise when weighed against the alternative, a massive flood.

"People might want to take notice that global warming is a problem because if Antarctica melts, the earth's water is going to get higher and flood it," Mulligan said. "So even though people might not be as satisfied with the amount of light being given off by a 50-watt bulb, they might want to start using them more often if they want to live."

But Mulligan's future may be found in his hobby of Lego-building. 

"I see Andrew in the building or engineering field," Angela Mulligan said. "Andrew is a fanatic when it comes to Legos. He wants to be a Lego designer." 

The eighth annual fair showcased the projects of 202 fourth- and fifth-grade students.

And Eisenhart wasn't surprised by Mulligan's win. 

"Andrew is a fun-loving boy who likes to play," Eisenhart said. "On the other hand, Andrew is an excellent student who does very well, and I think that that's one of the things that helped him to win."