Two Manhasset High School students took the top prize in a prestigious national science competition Tuesday.
Kimberly Te, 17, and Christine Yoo, 17, won the grand prize of $100,000 in this year's Siemens Competition in Math, Science and Technology. The pair received the news at a ceremony Tuesday morning in Washington, D.C.
"We're just so overjoyed," said Te. "All the other finalists were so amazing, so we're just so surprised."
The girls made a device called a microbial fuel cell that can produce clean energy and help clean up oil spills. They said they worked for months on the project, putting in more than 1,500 hours.
"Our design ended up being 26 times cheaper than commercially used materials," said Te.
Te and Yoo already have a patent pending on their project.
Siemens foundation CEO David Etzwiler called their work and dedication impressive and outstanding.