A San Diego teenager is headed to the national finals of the Siemens Westinghouse Competition, which recognizes the country's top science and math students. 16 year old Michael Viscardi won the western regional finals this past weekend. KPBS reporter Beth Ford Roth has more.
Winning is nothing new for Michael Viscardi. In 2003 he took top prize in the national "Math Counts" competition and was rewarded with a handshake from the President.
On Saturday night, Michael won the western region individual prize in the Siemens Westinghouse competition for his work on a 19th century mathematical problem called the Dirichlet problem.
Viscardi: "It was so exciting, probably the most exciting thing that's ever happened to me, and I didn't know what to think, it was really almost like a dream."
The national finals are next month in New York. The top prize is $100,000.
As far as college goes Michael, who is home-schooled, has applied for early admission to Harvard. Beth Ford Roth, KPBS news.
