And the winner is...

A high school senior from Oregon won a $100,000 scholarship at one of the nation’s premier high school science competitions on Monday for his research in a new area of mathematics called string topology.
The research conducted by Dmitry Vaintrob, 18, a student at South Eugene High School in Eugene, Ore., could provide knowledge that mathematicians and physicists might apply to understand electricity, magnetism and gravity, judges at the Siemens Competition in Math, Science and Technology said.
“His work is at the Ph.D. level, publishable and already attracting the attention of researchers,” said competition judge Michael Hopkins, a professor of mathematics at Harvard.

•Considering the work of this HS student, what is holding you back personally from exhibiting a higher level of work in an area of your choosing?
•What do you think made it possible for Vaintrob to win $100,000 in this competition?
•What would you do with a $100,000 scholarship?
•What would you do if experts were calling your house everyday for advice on a topic of your choosing? What would that topic be?