Blair student named Intel finalist

The Science Service named senior Anatoly Preygel a finalist in the 2003 Intel Science Talent Search.

Preygel was the only finalist chosen from the state of Maryland.

In total, 40 finalists were selected, who will convene March 6-11 in Washington, D.C. to vie for $530,000 in prize money.

Preygel worked on his project over the summer of 2002 at the Research Science Institute in Cambridge, Massachusetts. His paper, entitled "Computation of Quandle Cocycle Knot Invariants", discussed mathematical knot theory, which may have applications to physics, chemistry and genetics. According to the Science Service website, "Preygel addressed the hard question of when two knots are the same (isotopic)."

Last year, Blair alumni Jennifer Alyono, Jacob Burnim and Jean Li were selected as finalists. Each received $5000 in scholarship as well as a high-performance computer.

This year, Stuyvesant High School in New York led the nation with three finalists. Half of all the finalists, 20, hailed from the state of New York.

Superintendent Jerry Weast's letter on Preygel's accomplishment can be found here.