Intel STS 2015 winners (left to right) Noah Golowich, Andrew Jin and Michael Winer.

WASHINGTON — Studies of pattern-finding, genetic variation and sound have earned three teens the top prizes in the 2015 Intel Science Talent Search. The three first-place finishers each received $150,000 and were feted at a gala celebration in the nation’s capital on March 10.

Run by the nonprofit Society for Science & the Public since 1942, the Science Talent Search is America’s oldest and most prestigious science competition for high school students. Intel Corp. of Santa Clara, Calif., has sponsored the competition since 1998.

Each year, Intel STS brings 40 accomplished finalists to Washington, D.C., for a week of scientific presentations, judging, fun — and the chance to vie for a total of more than $1 million in awards. This was the first year that judges selected three top prizes: one for basic research, one for global good and another for innovation. Previously, Intel granted a single first-place prize of $100,000.

Speaking of the 2015 finalists, Maya Ajmera said: “These students serve as shining examples of the incredible work being accomplished in STEM fields by young people.” Ajmera, president and chief executive officer of SSP and the publisher of Science News, is herself an alumna of STS. “We are proud to recognize and reward these stellar young researchers,” she said.

Corporations and new companies will need employees with “a solid foundation in science, technology, engineering and math ... to drive their business and contribute to economic development,” said Renée James, president of Intel Corp., who addressed the gala audience. “We hope this program will encourage other young people to become the next generation of scientists, inventors and engineers.”

Kip Thorne, a physicist at Caltech and the science adviser for the movie Interstellar, had high hopes for the finalists. “You, the finalists in this talent search, represent the future of our nation’s science [and] the future of the world’s science,” he said in a keynote speech at the gala. “You have the opportunity to have a huge impact on humanity.”

Noah Golowich, 17, of Lexington, Mass., received the first place medal for basic research. He developed a proof in a field of mathematics known as Ramsey theory. It focuses on finding patterns in large and complicated systems.

Andrew Jin, 17, of San Jose, Calif., won the first place medal for global good. He developed an original algorithm to comb through genetic data and identify tiny changes in a person’s complete set of genetic instructions. Such mutations can play a role in disease. Identifying the genetic contributions to disease could lead to better diagnostics and treatments.

Michael Winer, 18, of North Bethesda, Md., took home the first place medal for innovation. He studied phonons, the fundamental units of sound. Sound results from the vibration of particles. Winer studied how phonons interact with electrons. His research showed how electrons absorb and emit phonons when bombarded by sound waves.

Winer’s work could be applied to complex atomic structures. One example: superconductors. These are materials that can carry electric currents without resistance. Previously, he won a silver medal at the 2014 International Physics Olympiad. During that competition, he was the highest scoring student from the United States on the theoretical exam.

Three second-place winners each received cash awards of $75,000: Brice Huang, 17, of Princeton Junction, N.J.; Kalia D. Firester, 17, of New York, N.Y.; and Saranesh Prembabu, 17, of San Ramon, Calif.

Three third-place winners each picked up prizes of $35,000: Shashwat Kishore, 18, of West Chester, Pa.; Anvita Gupta, 17, of Scottsdale, Ariz.; and Catherine J. Li, 18, of Orlando, Fla. — Andrew Bridges