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　　Mary Masterman hasn't decided where she will attend college, but when she does, she'll have plenty of money to pay for it．The 17-year-old took home a ＄100,000 scholarship Tuesday as the top winner of the 2007 Intel Science Talent Search．

　　"It was a complete surprise," said the senior at Westmoore High School in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma．"I wasn't expecting it．" Masterman earned first place at this year's competition by building a low-budget spectrograph(摄谱仪)－ an instrument that identifies the unique characteristics, or "fingerprints," of different molecules．Spectrographs are used in a variety of fields, including astronomy, medicine, and law enforcement．They can sense the presence of explosives or drugs, and they can also help determine the age of a piece of artwork．

　　Normally, the cost of a spectrograph can run as high as ＄100,000．Mary, however, built her device－which she crafted from lenses, a laser, aluminum(铝)tubing, and a camera－for just ＄300．"I wanted to build one that was lower-costing so it would be more available to anyone interested in spectrography," she said．

　　Sticking to a budget was only half the battle．Getting the machine to work was another challenge．"I had to keep coming up with creative ways to adjust or change something," Mary admitted．"It took three months to build and another three months before it actually functioned properly．"

　　Mary competed with more than 1,700 other high school seniors in this year's science challenge．Forty finalists were invited to Washington, D．C．, where they presented their projects at the National Institute of Science．In all, 10 students took home awards for their innovative projects．