64th Annual STS (2004-2005)
Finalists
Michael Andrew Forbes

MARYLAND
Michael Andrew Forbes, 17, of Silver Spring, submitted a computer science project to the Intel Science Talent Search concerning a type of vehicle routing algorithm commonly known as a "Traveling Salesman Problem." These problems are of interest to researchers because they attempt to find the most cost-efficient route for delivering goods to a number of places, such as a supermarket scheduling deliveries to several stores in one area. For his project, Michael examined the situation when a single fixed-capacity vehicle attempts to optimize its delivery route when the levels of supply and demand are different. His paper presents algorithms for solving the problem and suggests a relationship between his problem and others that may be easier to solve. At Montgomery Blair High School, Michael serves as president of Blazernet, the high school Internet service provider, and the Linux Users Group. His awards include several for math and the Top Newcomer Award for freestyle competition ballroom dancing. His hobbies include origami, bonsai and golf. Michael, the son of Dr. Kevin Forbes and Lorraine Daly, hopes to attend Cornell in preparation for a career in theoretical computer science.