62nd Annual STS (2002-2003)
Finalists
Alexander Chow Mittal

CONNECTICUT
Alexander Chow Mittal, 17, of Cos Cob entered the Intel Science Talent Search with a chemistry project that examined the use of peptide nucleic acid (PNA) in combination with DNA to create unique double-crossover structures that could one day be used as scaffolding to create molecular-scale electronic circuits. Current research into the use of self-assembling DNA tiles to assemble nanoscale (10-9 m) computer circuits faces major challenges. From his cancer research Alex knew that PNA, an artificial mimic of DNA, was extremely stable. He hypothesized that a DNA-PNA architecture would stabilize the structure and could be used to form the scaffolding arrays. In his study, he successfully designed and formed a stable PNA-DNA molecule, which he believes will be ideal for manipulating nanoscale particles. Alex is co-editor of the paper and cross country team captain at Greenwich High School. A Red Cross volunteer, he created a tutor service: the Buddy Program. He received the 2002 Intel Foundation Young Scientist Award and attended the Nobel ceremony in Stockholm. The son of Dr. Khush and Maria Mittal, Alex plans to study engineering and hopes to be among the first astronauts to land on Mars.