Melissa Carvell won a second-place award in the materials and bioengineering category at the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair in mid-May in Albuquerque, N.M. She created an upgrade to improve the body armor worn by U.S. forces serving in Iraq and Afghanistan.

"This is like winning a Nobel Prize," Mid-High science teacher Colleen Bennett said of Melissa's honor. "This is huge. There were five Nobel Laureates -- former Nobel Prize winners in science and engineering -- among the judges."

Melissa's project reinforced the ceramic plates inside the body armor worn by U.S. forces with two layers of carbon fibers set at 90 degree angles to each other. She tested her idea using an AK-47 bullet dropped from different heights and varying weights to mimic the impact of a fired weapon shell. Her research showed the plate strength could be improved by more than 8,000 times what it has been.

Her project was titled "Science Thwarts Insurgents: Improvements in Ceramic Armor Systems Design Using Composites for Tensile Reinforcement in Ceramic Plates."

"I wanted to do something to help people and I enjoy working with composites," Melissa said. "So, this was a good project for me."

Melissa was among 1,500 students from 47 countries competing for prizes in several categories, including biology, chemistry, computer science, Earth sciences and engineering.

The honor brought her a $1,500 cash prize, an $8,000 Navy scholarship and a $1,500 prize from the Air Force. In addition, Melissa will have an asteroid named after her by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, which decided to bestow that honor to first- and second-place winners at the fair.

"It was incredible," Melissa said. "I loved meeting all of the people from throughout the world. It was so cool."

The 10th-grader plans to continuing to improve her research project.

She is working on plans involving an actual AK-47 being fired into the reinforced plates.

Her body armor research brought her the honor of best overall project in the 2007 Oklahoma Science and Engineering Fair.

Melissa is no stranger to awards for her science projects.

As a ninth-grader, her project involving carbon fibers and work at NASA brought her numerous honors, including the New Mexico Chapter American Vacuum Society Award and Northrop Grumman Space Technology Award for the top exhibitor in space science or engineering in the Junior Division.

Melissa's work also has won her honors from the Oklahoma Department of Commerce; the OU NASA Space Grant Award and the U.S. Naval Science Award.

Intel International Science and Engineering Fair Web site: www.sciserv.org/isef/