Is there any limits to what a home schooled kid can do? Check this out:

16-Year-Old Wins Science Scholarship
By JUAN-CARLOS RODRIGUEZ, Associated Press WriterMon Dec 5,11:50 AM ET

A 16-year-old California boy won a premier high school science
competition Monday for his innovative approach to an old math problem
that could help in the design of airplane wings.

Michael Viscardi, a senior from San Diego, won a $100,000 college
scholarship, the top individual prize in the Siemens Westinghouse
Competition in Math, Science and Technology.

Viscardi said he's been homeschooled since fifth grade, although he
does take math classes at the University of California at San Diego
three days a week. His father is a software engineer and his mother,
who stays at home, has a Ph.D. in neuroscience, he said.

"It's unbelievable," Viscardi said of his win. "It's so incredible that
I'm in shock right now."

Viscardi tackled a 19th century math problem known as the Dirichlet
problem, formulated by the mathematician Lejeune Dirichlet. The theorem
Viscardi created to solve it has potential applications in the fields
of engineering and physics, including airplane wing design. He said he
worked on it for about six months with a professor at UCSD.

"He is a super-duper mathematics student," said lead judge Constance
Atwell, a consultant and former research director at the National
Institutes of Health. "It was almost impossible for our judges to
figure out the limits of his understanding during our questioning. And
he's only 16 years old," she said.

Anne Lee, 17, a senior at Phoenix Country Day School in Paradise
Valley, Ariz. and Albert Shieh, 16, a junior at Chaparral High School
in Scottsdale, Ariz., shared the $100,000 top prize in the team
category. They improved computer technology that could help locate the
genetic roots of some inherited diseases like Alzheimer's, autism and
bipolar disorder.

Lee and Sheih met at the gene research center at which they both have
internships. They were assisted on their project by members of the
institute.

"I would have been happy with anything," Sheih said.

Lee said dissecting a cow's eyeball early in her academic career
inspired and encouraged her to study science.

As part of the winners' celebration, they will get to ring the closing
bell at the New York Stock Exchange at the end of the business day
Monday.

The Siemens Foundation, founded in 1998, aims to increase access to
higher education among gifted students studying math, science and
technology. The foundation distributes nearly $2 million annually in
scholarships and awards.

Nineteen students competed in the national finals — six individuals and
six teams. Besides the winners' $100,000 prizes, finalists won
scholarships ranging from $10,000 to $50,000. Team members share
awards.