59th Annual STS (1999–2000)
Finalists
Dilip Bobby Biswal

CALIFORNIA
Dilip Bobby Biswal, 18 of San Ramon, has been selected as a finalist in the Intel Science Talent Search for his microbiology entry on cell life. His research deals in part with chromosomes, the gene carriers of cells, and could have implications for gene therapies to reduce the deterioration of human cells and could help find cures for arthritis, Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and heart diseases. He became interested in what regulates the life and death of cells as a result of a lecture on the subject at Monte Vista High School in Danville where he is a senior. His experiments set out to uncover the relationship between a segment of chromosomes called telomeres and the life span of cells. Bobby did much of his research on the Internet. The results showed that there is a link between telomeres and cell lifespan and that further research is this area could be beneficial to the field of medicine. Bobby has won a number of awards for his academic achievements and credits his father, Madan Biswal, for his lifelong interest in science. Son of Madan and Pravat Biswal, he hopes to attend the Massachusetts Institute of Technology to pursue a career in computer engineering.