Lee Huttner just missed being recognized as a gifted student at Allderdice High School in Squirrel Hill. But Huttner, 16, is no intellectual slouch: His research on the neurological basis of spirituality just won him a national award for profoundly intelligent children.

Huttner, who will enter the 11th grade at Allderdice next month, said his interdisciplinary research found heightened brain activity during meditation and prayer, suggesting that religious experience is at least partly rooted in the brain and that prayer's mental health benefits are real.

Martha Rial, Post-Gazette Lee Huttner Age: 16 Residence: Squirrel Hill In the news: He recently won a $10,000 scholarship for his research on the neurological basis of spirituality. Quote: "I love learning about other cultures. I really like this combining of science, religion and philosophy and trying to explain religion and philosophy through science." Education: He attends Allderdice High School in Squirrel Hill and is interested in studying anthropology at Brown University or New York University. Family: His parents are Martin and Rhonda Huttner, and siblings are Liana, 28, and Jonathan, 22.

"I think it's beneficial to bring science and religion back together and heal their misunderstandings," he said. "They both have a lot to learn from each other. It's kind of a symbiotic relationship."

Huttner is one of 16 students across the country named as a 2004 Davidson Fellow, which qualifies him to receive a $10,000 scholarship when he starts college.

The award was established by the Reno, Nev.-based Davidson Institute for Talent Development to recognize students younger than 18 who have made significant achievements in science, technology, mathematics, music, literature or philosophy.

Although Huttner entered his project as a philosophy submission, he's interested in studying anthropology at Brown University or possibly New York University, and hopes to study abroad in England or France -- making his scholarship all the more welcome.

Huttner, of Squirrel Hill, said he got the idea for his project while browsing the Barnes & Noble Booksellers store at The Waterfront last fall. There, he picked up a book by Drs. Andrew Newberg and Eugene D'Aquili on the biological reasons for the persistence of faith in God.

But in addition to researching the link between brain activity and prayer and meditation, Huttner took existing research a step further. His project advocates meditation or prayer for people with mental health problems such as depression, addiction, bipolar disorder and stress.

Huttner said even nonreligious people can benefit from prayer if it's not tailored to a specific religion.

"A lot of prayers are for healing or the benefit of mankind rather than to a specific god," he said.

Huttner, who in his spare time enjoys reading and writing modern poetry -- Carl Sandburg is a favorite -- is the youngest of three children. His 28-year-old sister, Liana, is an occupational therapy assistant in Monroeville while his 22-year-old brother, Jonathan, is taking online computer classes from home.

Lee and Jonathan live with their parents, Martin Huttner, a salesman for Empire Carpet, and Rhonda Huttner, a saleswoman at Kaufmann's department store.

Although Huttner did not qualify for Allderdice's top-level Center for Advanced Studies, in which students are required to study subjects more quickly and complete more independent projects, he will be taking a challenging run of courses this school year: Advanced Placement English and Advanced Placement U.S. History, the only two AP courses available for the "average" junior.

He also is president of Allderdice's Key Club, and a member of the National Honor Society, Students for a Free Tibet, the Sierra Club and the Natural Resources Defense Council.

Huttner said he tries not to let his exclusion from the school's top program get to him -- although he did take the IQ test twice in hopes of making the required 130 points. He would like the chance to do more long-term projects, but at least he gets to do the extended project required for graduation, he said.

"It angers me, but I can't let it get to me because I like the classes I'm in and I like the teachers I have," he said.

Students like Lee Huttner can actually be much better students than their higher-IQ peers because they often work harder and retain more information, said Linda Neumann, a chemistry teacher at Allderdice and one of Huttner's project advisers.

Huttner's project and the independence with which he selected books to read and developed his ideas were notable in a 10th-grader, Neumann said.

"It was really a surprise that someone in the 10th grade would be that industrious," she said. "For him to write that kind of paper and do that kind of research, that kind of synthesis was quite advanced in relation to his peers. It showed a lot of tenacity, and he went way beyond what he had to do."