December 4, 2007 -- Young math and science whizzes used their wit to leave a mark on the world of technology on Tuesday.

16-year-old Naomi Collip and her friends turned science fair partners decided to examine a favorite food of many. Their concern of whether commercially cooked hamburgers pass safety inspections inspired them to create an award winning science fair project that addresses the issue.

"We designed a video system to automatically measure burger doneness. We did this in the hope of eliminating the threat of E. coli in fast food restaurants and commercial kitchens around the world," 16-year-old Caroline Lang said.

A camera mounted above the cooking surface measures burger shrinkage during cooking to determine whether it's cooked enough to kill bacteria like E. coli.

"We found in testing that shrinkage occurs with burger temperature so when a burger is shrunk to a certain area, it has cooked safely," 15-year-old Rebecca Ehrhardt said.

There's also a problem with probes because if one burger has E. coli in it, then it can cross contaminate all the other burgers.

The project garnered the home schooled trio from Yardley, Levittown and Hamiltion Square, N.J., a regional first place and national fourth place win in the Seimen's science fair.

The teens have been friends since they were toddlers and their passions aren't limited to science. Naomi, a future teacher sings and plays soccer. Caroline, a future lawyer loves to dance ballet. And Rebecca, a future scientist, loves the performing arts.

For right now, however, they are content with seeking a patent and trying to shake up the commercial food world with their E. coli busting burger cam.

Family lawyer