FLEXING SCIENCE MUSCLES STUDENTS COMPETING FOR TOP PRIZE IN D.C.

Byline: Charles F. Bostwick Staff Writer

PALMDALE - Research on creating artificial muscle has sent two Highland High School seniors to Washington, D.C., for the nation's premiere science research competition.

Steven Frehn and Andrew Deagon's research into the use of materials called dielectric electroactive polymers put them among the top 18 teens out of more than 1,200 who entered the sixth annual Siemens Westinghouse Competition in Math, Science and Technology.

``We found something we were interested in and just decided to go for it. It's pretty amazing,'' Frehn said Friday by telephone from Washington.

Frehn and Deagon won the team prize in the Siemens Westinghouse western regional competition last month in Berkeley. Today in Washington they will explain their mechanical engineering project to a panel of judges for the national contest.

The winning individual and team each get $100,000 scholarships. The others get $10,000 to $50,000, which the teams split.

The pair estimate they worked 20 hours a week for six months on the project. They've worked even harder since winning the Nov. 13 Berkeley competition, fine-tuning their project and perfecting their speeches for the national judges.

``Its a lot of critiquing and making sure you know your stuff,'' said Deagon.

Besides earning scholarship money, winning the contest opens a lot of doors for a high school student, said Marie Gentile, a spokeswoman.

Past winners have been invited to present their findings at professional conferences or to publish in research journals, she said. Often colleges offer winners full scholarships, so they can use the contest prize for master's degrees or doctorates.

``There's a lot of opportunity,'' Gentile said.

The first year's winners just graduated this summer from college, so there are no Nobel Prize recipients among them - yet.

``I feel sure there are one or two among them for the future,'' Gentile said.

Both Frehn and Deagon hope to attend either the University of California at Berkeley or Stanford University. Frehn plans to study mechanical engineering and Deagon to study biochemical engineering.

Frehn is wrestling team captain at Highland and has participated in a NASA summer intern program.

Deagon is a hospital and homeless shelter volunteer, and plays saxophone and guitar.

Deagon's father, Gregory, is an air traffic controller in Burbank and his mother, Lory, is a homemaker.

Frehn's mother, Sonia, is a registered nurse for Los Angeles County and his father, John, is a civil engineer for the Los Angeles County road department.

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Highland High School seniors Andrew Deagon, left, and Steven Frehn are in Washington for the Siemens Westinghouse Competition in Math, Science and Technology.