IN THE NEWS: La Jolla student among top young scientists

Meredith Lehmann, a 16-year-old senior at La Jolla High School, is passionate about engineering, music and community service. But it took an accident for her to become an expert on how air and long-distance automobile travel affect the spread of epidemics.

In middle school, she planned to research an entirely different topic for a science fair project but a form was mislaid by a teacher.

Thinking on the fly, Meredith pivoted toward the field of study that eventually landed her among 40 finalists Tuesday in the Intel Science Talent Search, a competition bringing together the nation’s most promising young scientists in Washington, D.C. Read more from the San Diego Union-Tribune»