Google Unveils International Science Fair Winners

Google today announced the five young scientists who took home the top Lego-trophy prizes in this year's Google Science Fair.

Twenty-one of the world's brightest teenage scientists presented 15 projects at Google's California headquarters, ranging in topics from cancer research and vertical farming to 3D electronics and dementia.

The winners, as listed on Google's official blog:

• 13-14 age category: Jonah Kohn (U.S.) – "Good Vibrations: Improving the Music Experience for People with Hearing Loss Using Multi-Frequency Tactile Sound." Kohn built a device that converts sound into tactile vibrations.
• 15-16 age category: Iván Hervías Rodriguez, Marcos Ochoa, and Sergio Pascual (Spain) – "La Vida Oculta del Agua (The Secret Life of Water." The team studied hidden microscopic life in fresh water, documenting organisms that exist in a drop of water, and how they influence our environment.
• 17-18 age category and grand prize winner: Brittany Wenger (U.S.) – "Global Neural Network Cloud Service for Breast Cancer." Wenger harnessed the power of the cloud, building an application that compares individual test results to an extensive dataset, allowing doctors to accurately diagnose breast cancer in a minimally-invasive procedure.

Each winner receives "world-class prizes," Google said, including a scientific trip to the Galapagos Islands with National Geographic Expeditions and a $50,000 Google scholarship. Grand-prize winner Wenger will also have the opportunity to get hands-on experience at Lego, CERN, or Google, all partners in the science fair event.

Meanwhile, 90 regional finalists will receive a Google Chromebook.

"The judges were impressed with the quality of all the projects this year – and by the ingenuity, dedication and passion of the young scientists who created them," Google in Education's Cristin Frodella wrote on the blog.

The second annual Google Science Fair launched in January, garnering thousands of project entries in 14 difference languages from more than 100 countries. Categories included nature, health, the environment, and technology in real-world situations.

"We applaud every contestant who submitted a project to the 2012 Google Science Fair and look forward to seeing the innovations, inventions and discoveries of young scientists in years to come," she said.

During the science fair awards ceremony, Google also recognized Swaziland's Sakhiwe Shongwe and Bonkhe Mahlaleia, winners of the Scientific American Science in Action award.

For a closer look at the top 15 finalists, see the slideshow below.