Conestoga Senior Wins $75K In National Science Competition

TREDYFFRIN, PA -- A Conestoga High School senior is the recipient of a $75,000 award after being named one of nine winners in a national science competition.

Michael Zhang, 18, of Berwyn, was honored for his work on a gene-modifying process by the Society for Science and the Public, the group announced in a news release Tuesday.

Zhang's project earned the Second Place Medal of Distinction for Global Good, which recognizes students whose research "demonstrate great scientific potential through their passion to make a difference."

"(Zhang) engineered tiny virus-like particles to deliver gene-modifying proteins to target cells for medical therapy by altering the genome of those cells in a controlled way," the release stated.

The competition, named the Intel Science Talent Search, has been operating for 75 years. Around 1,750 high school seniors entered the 2016 competition, the group said.

Of that group, 300 were announced as semifinalists in January, and 40 were invited to Washington D.C. as finalists to compete for the prestigious final nine awards.

The Society says that winners over the last 75 years have included individuals who eventually received 12 Nobel Prizes, two Fields Medals, 11 National Medals of Science, and 17 MacArthur Foundation Fellowships.

The group even includes someone who went on to win an Academy Award for Best Actress: Natalie Portman.