Paly senior Lynnelle Ye will travel to Washington, D.C. to present a research project, after Intel named her a finalist in the Intel Science Talent Search.

Ye received balloons and a check for $7,500 of scholarship money today during first period, when she was notified of her finalist status.

“They just dragged me to my chemistry class and gave me balloons and a check,” Ye said. “I’m pretty excited. I was not expecting it at all.”

In March, Ye will go to Washington, D.C. for a week, to present her research project on a topic involving game theory. Ye’s research project involves a game called “graph chomp.” In Washington, D.C., Ye will present her research to judges and meet the other 39 STS finalists.

“A lot of it will be meeting the other finalists and having fun,” Ye said. “We’ll make presentations and there will be judges there to look at our posters.”

Ye will present her research project at the National Academy of Sciences to members of the scientific community and members of the public, according to the competition Web site.

The judges will select a winner from the 40 finalists, and the top 10 finalists will receive additional money. The grand prize for the first place winner is $100,000 in scholarship money, according to Ye.