A 17-year-old high school student from Hudson County has been named as a finalist in the prestigious Intel Science Talent Search.

Eric Delgado, a senior at Bayonne High School, has made it to the finals of the national science competition. His project is titled "Engineering a Novel Gram-Negative Effective Efflux Pump Inhibitor." In simpler terms, Delgado has discovered a new way to combat the resistance some bacteria have to antibiotics.

"Having therapeutics effective against all types of bacteria is a turning point," says the teenager.

Delgado is one of 40 finalists from across the country and the only student from New Jersey to make it this far in the competition. Winners will be announced in March, and the Bayonne senior could win as much as $100,000. School administrators have confidence in the teen's abilities.

"I think in a few years you will hear his name associated with something that will save lives in the future," says Rich Baccarella, Bayonne High School's principal.

Regardless of the competition's outcome, Delgado will be attending Princeton on a full scholarship next year.