Lexington Student Wins $150K Prize In Science Competition

WASHINGTON, D.C. (CBS) -- A local high school student is taking home a $150,000 prize after winning first place in a science competition.

Noah Golowich, of Lexington, earned the First Place Medal of Distinction in Basic Research at Intel Science Talent Search 2015 Tuesday night in Washington, D.C. He beat out nearly 1,800 applicants to claim one of three $150,000 awards.

The 17-year-old developed a proof in the area of Ramsey theory, which Intel explains is "a field of mathematics based on finding types of structure in large and complicated systems."

"He resolved a 2005 conjecture on the degree of regularity of linear equations and generalized it to answer related problems," Intel said.

Golowich said he was really surprised by his win.

"As a young scientist, it's important to do something you like," he said.

Golowich is captain of his high school math team, a member of the tennis team and enjoys playing jazz piano in his spare time.