Pavan Vinjamoori's award-winning science website was more than just a contest entry. He was looking for an answer to a personal health problem.

The Parkway Central Middle School student won the novice division of the 2002 CyberChallenge website competition. That's a Junior Academy of Science of St. Louis contest combining science research with creation of an internet website.

The 14-year-old Pavan's winning entry was called, "Lasik Eye Surgery-The New Frontier."

His selection of that topic had a strong personal interest. Pavan has suffered from the eye disease myopia since he was a small child.

He said, "Eye glasses correct the problem but I want to get rid of the glasses."

Pavan said the laser-based Lasik surgery corrects the problem of myopia "in 90 per cent of the cases." However, he said there is some chance the operation may not succeed. It could result in worse vision or blindness.

He thought the research needed to create his award-winning website might help him better understand his eyesight options. "I was skeptical at the beginning and I'm a little bit less skeptical now. But, I haven't made up my mind," he said.

Pavan still has time to make a decision. His doctor said he needs to wait until he's about 20 and is through growing before having the eye operation.

But, he said, "Having a personal interest made the science website project more interesting."

The CyberChallenge contest is a separate competition from the Greater St. Louis Science Fair, which was held last month.

The theme of this year's website competition was "Science--The New Frontier." The contestants were urged to select a science subject with big potential for the future. Then, they created their own website design to display their research report.

Pavan said he also participated in the Junior Academy's Spontaneous Challenge science competition. That's where a team of kids get a sack of mystery materials and create a science experiment on the spot.

He said he didn't submit an entry in this year's larger Greater St. Louis Science Fair.

For the CyberChallenge, Pavan used Microsoft's Front Page software to help him with his website design. "A beginner can learn how to use it very quickly," he said.

The purpose of any design is to attract attention, But, the designer has to make sure the design isn't so complicated that it distracts a viewer from the research content. Pavan's colorful design convinced the contest judges that he satisfied those goals.

To view Pavan's entry, log on to: www.jracademy.com/~vinjamp/ .

Pavan said he gathered information on eye diseases and Lasik surgery by using a "variety of search engines" on the internet. His website lists all these sources in a Links category at the end of the website.

In giving background on various eye diseases, Pavan put material about myopia at the top of his list. After all, it was the one in which he had the most personal interest.

He said gathering background material and writing his report took more time than doing the website design.

Pavan said math and science are his favorite subjects in school. He participates in his school's Math Team.

Also, the eighth grader said he plays tennis. He is considering trying out for the tennis team when he gets to high school.

Concerning a career, Pavan said he'd like to get a civil engineering degree. He hasn't picked a school or a branch of engineering as yet.

However, he said an engineering degree would allow him to use his math and science in "creative ways." He said he likes design work.

Whether he will have had Lasik surgery to correct his myopia is still up in the air.

For more information on how you can participate in local science activities, log on to www.jracademy.com.