America's top young scientist attends Catholic school in Georgia

Published: 2004-04-01

ATHENS, Ga. (CNS) -- Joseph Stunzi is a typical eighth-grade boy. He likes computers. He plays the guitar and soccer. And when he grows up, the student at St. Joseph Catholic School in Athens wants to be a cardiac engineer, a cardiac surgeon and an electrophysiologist. This typical 13-year-old has a not-so-typical love for learning that earned him the Discovery Channel's "America's Top Young Scientist of the Year" award. Joseph won first place last October for his original science project on "the effects of cell phones on pacemaker patients' hearts," as well as for the skills he demonstrated during the Discovery Channel's Young Scientist Challenge National Competition in Washington. Specifically, those skills were his leadership, teamwork, scientific problem solving, critical thinking and oral and written communication skills. With the award he also received a $15,000 scholarship for college.

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