Mention science fairs at Catholic High School and Ian Bouligny’s name is likely to come up.

Last month, the 2008 graduate made a bigger name for himself around the world after he won a first place award at the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair in Atlanta.

Bouligny, 17, won the Intel ISEF Best of Category Award on May 17 and received $8,000, a new Intel-based computer and an asteroid/minor planet named after him for finishing first.

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In addition to Bouligny winning, a $1,000 grant will go Catholic High School and the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, where the district and regional science fairs were held.

The winning entry Bouligny designed is what he calls a Developing Scraps IV: The Self-Contained, Robot, Anthropomorphic, Powered Skeleton-Hybridizing a Prototype for Increased Energy Efficiency.

“The main thrust of my project was to develop a mechanism that can be strapped onto a person to aid them with walking if they have difficulty, such as stroke victims, soldiers, firemen and hunters,” Bouligny said. “This project all started with a small, strap-on device that was made out of PVC pipes and pneumatic actuators to power the arms.”

Bouligny said over the next four years, SCRAPS, the Self-Contained Robotic Anthropomorphic Powered Skeleton, evolved into an external leg that straps onto the body and mimics the motion of the human joints.

“SCRAPS has seen three trips to the International Science and Engineering Fair, endured countless hours of judging and placed first out of 1,500 students throughout the world,” he said. “ISEF was truly a great experience, and perhaps the best part was seeing people from radically different cultures and ethnic backgrounds come together to learn and observe in an environment that promotes higher-order scientific thought.”

CHS science fair director Donald “Doc” Voorhies said he is proud of Bouligny’s accomplishment.

“Ian is always focused on what he wants to do,” Voorhies said. “I remember when he was a freshman and we had another student who was a senior who had excellent projects in engineering. Ian told this student I was going to beat you and he did as a freshman or a sophomore.”

Bouligny is the son of Vernon Bouligny and Angela Arrington. He plans to attend Louisiana State University this fall and major in biochemistry