National contest is battled with brains

Three North Carolina teenagers head to New York City this week to compete in the national finals of the prestigious Siemens Competition in Math, Science & Technology.

Lanair Lett, 18, a senior from Henderson who attends the N.C. School of Science and Mathematics in Durham, is one of six individual finalists. Yekaterina "Katie" Shpanskaya, 15, a Raleigh homeschooler, and Neil Shah, 17, a senior at Northwest Guilford High School in Greensboro, form one of the six team finalists.

They're vying in one of the top high school academic competitions for a grand prize in each category of a $100,000 scholarship. The finalists made it through a nationwide field of 1,348 projects that was whittled down to 96 regional finalists and now 12 national finalists.

"When you get this far, it really says a lot about the winners," said Jeniffer Harper-Taylor, a vice president with the Siemens Foundation, which funds the competition.

Students from the N.C. School of Science and Mathematics, a public boarding school with students from across the state, won the top team prize in 2000, 2004 and 2008.

You can watch the Dec. 7 announcement of the winners live online. Go to siemens-foundation.org/en/competition.htm for information.