Woodbury High senior vies for 'junior Nobel prize'

A Woodbury High School senior who's explored the links between food and breast cancer was recently named one of 40 finalists in the nationwide Intel Science Talent Search Competition, an honor often referred to as a "junior Nobel Prize."

Prithwis Mukhopadhyay is currently in Washington, D.C., presenting four years' worth of cancer research to a panel of judges which includes Nobel laureates and congressmen. He's competing for a top prize of $100,000. He will also get a chance to meet President Barack Obama.

"I'm not really that nervous," Mukhopadhyay said before leaving for the competition. "I'm more excited to share my research."

Mukhopadhyay was selected from a pool of 300 semifinalists. Placing in the top 300 earned $1,000 for his high school as well as a $1,000 scholarship for himself.

His research explores the common food additive carrageenan and its possible link to breast cancer. The substance is commonly used to thicken chocolate milk, ice cream, yogurt, soy milk, infant formula and processed meats. It is also used in non-food products such as cosmetics, toothpaste and medicine.

Achieving a dream

Mukhopdhyay decided to compete for the Intel STS Award after placing in the top 40 in the Discovery Channel Young Scientist Challenge with a project exploring use of banana peels as a source of biogas. "I really felt I wanted to step up my game and do some sort of research that could qualify me for Intel STS," he said.

He spent four summers researching with Dr. Sumit Bhattacharyya at the University of Illinois in preparation for the competition.

"Prithwis is different from others because of his passion and sincerity for the work," his mentor said. "He loves to do it, and he is passionate about it."

Mukhopadhyay said he did not mind giving up his summer vacations for a chance to work in a laboratory without compensation.

"I never thought of it as losing summer, but gaining knowledge and skills from research," he said.

He credited his parents for supporting his decision to spend his summers in Chicago.

"It's not possible to do something like that without the support of your parents," he said.

An overall achiever

Mukhopadhyay continues to impress his teachers and parents with his successes both in the classroom and out.

Woodbury High School Principal Linda Plante said besides being class valedictorian with an overall GPA of 4.3276, Mukhopadhyay has participated in a number of science and math competitions, served on the Woodbury High Student Council, and helped tutor other students.

"He's a student who is extremely bright, but he also has wonderful personal skills," Plante said. "He's very well-liked by people around here."

Beau LaBore, who teaches advanced placement economics, said Mukhopadhyay is an ideal student. "I think he has natural academic talent, but he's never rested on that talent," LaBore said. "He's a very driven young man."

While Mukhopadhyay has yet to decide on a college, "somebody's going to get a great student," LaBore said. Mukhopadhyay has been accepted by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology but is still waiting to hear from other colleges before he makes a final decision.

He is currently planning to study biomedical engineering, which "mixes my love for mathematics and biology into one great subject," he said.

No matter what Mukhopadhyay goes on to study, his parents are proud of what he has achieved so far.

"He has accomplished quite a bit more than I could ever imagine," said his father, Partha Mukhopadhyay.

And the key to his success?

"I'm interested in what I'm doing," Mukhopadhyay said. "It makes it more enjoyable."

Mara Van Ells is a U of M journalism student on assignment for the Star Tribune.