Karan Takhar, an Indian American student of Rhode Island, has come second in the 17th annual National Geographic Bee in which nearly five million students from across the US participated.
Takhar, a 14-year-old eighth grader in East Providence, lost to a home schooler from Minnesota, Nathan Cornelius, in an 11-question championship round in the competition held in Washington DC.
The son of Amrita and Gurpartap Takhar, originally from India, he won a $15,000 college scholarship for being the runner-up.
Takhar reached the national competition by winning the geography bee at the Gordon School and by taking an hour long written test graded by National Geographic that won him a lace in the state competition.
Cornelius won a $25,000 college scholarship and lifetime membership in the National Geographic Society.
The annual competition began with nearly five million fourth to eighth graders in nearly 15,000 schools across the United States.
Takhar defeated nine other finalists during the last round, which included two other Indian American students, Bonny Jain and Tejas Raje.
The top 10 finalists are eligible to be chosen for the three-member US team at the National Geographic World Championship, held in July in Budapest, Hungary.
Takhar said he was happy with his second-place finish.