EXPLR Announces 2026 National STEM Champions as America Celebrates 250 Years of Innovation
55 Students Across 47 States and 4 Territories Earn Expense-Paid Trips to Washington, D.C.
NEW YORK and WASHINGTON, March 25, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- EXPLR today announced the 55 middle and high school students named 2026 National STEM Champions, young innovators whose work is not just impressive for their age, but competitive by any standard. These students will be recognized at the third annual National STEM Festival® powered by EXPLR in Washington, D.C., on June 24-27. Each Champion and a guardian will receive an expense-paid trip, including lodging and travel, to showcase their innovations to leaders across business, government, and academia, as well as to the public at the free Build Day expo on Saturday, June 27.
With an acceptance rate of less than 5%, the National STEM Festival ranks among the most competitive early talent platforms in the world. Notably, more than 60% of the 2026 winners are young women, a powerful signal for the future of American innovation during Women's History Month. The cohort spans every corner of America, from Guam to Georgia and Kansas to Connecticut. Their work includes working prototypes, patent-pending inventions, and advanced research focused on urgent needs in industry, healthcare, and government — including AI-powered surgical systems, energy transition, and cancer diagnostics.
"The 2026 Champions have raised the bar for what we thought was possible at this level. They're already building the technologies, cures, and systems America needs. What this cohort has produced deserves real weight and real attention, and the National STEM Festival exists to make sure those with the power to amplify their work know exactly where to look," said Jenny Buccos, Co-Director of the National STEM Festival and Founder & CEO of EXPLR.
In addition to their recognition as National STEM Champions, eight students will receive special awards during the Festival, honoring exceptional achievement in areas spanning Indigenous ingenuity, app development, space innovation, and health sciences.
The following students were named 2026 National STEM Champions:
ALABAMA
Daniel Pacheco (Mobile)
ALASKA
Angel Jack (Angoon)
AMERICAN SAMOA
Alana Joserose (Pago Pago)
ARIZONA
Eniah Endriga (Yuma)
ARKANSAS
Aiden Robuck (Little Rock)
CALIFORNIA
Haritaa Ramesh (San Ramon)
Shripriya Kalbhavi (San Jose)
COLORADO
Anirudh Rao (Highlands Ranch)
CONNECTICUT
Lula Wang (Greenwich)
DELAWARE
Satya Kokonda (Wilmington)
FLORIDA
Darren Lau (Land O' Lakes)
GEORGIA
Aasrith Ravulapati (Cumming)
GUAM
Vinicia Kim (Tumon)
HAWAII
Luke Itomura (Honolulu)
Maliaayu Williams (Honolulu)
ILLINOIS
Issa Geisendorfer (Quincy)
INDIANA
Valerie Fu (Carmel)
IOWA
Amal Eltayib (Iowa City)
Antariksha Sharma (Fairfield)
KANSAS
Savannah Siceloff (Shawnee)
KENTUCKY
Wanda Wu (Louisville)
LOUISIANA
Maya Trutschl (Shreveport)
MARYLAND
Sathvik Dasari (Poolesville)
MASSACHUSETTS
Jason Chang (Worcester)
Nichelle Thinagar (Worcester)
MICHIGAN
Diya Ramakrishnan (Saginaw)
MINNESOTA
Evan Morris (St. Paul)
MISSISSIPPI
Michelle Xie (Hattiesburg)
MISSOURI
Elle Saleeby (St. Louis)
MONTANA
Tanner Heaton (Sunburst)
NEBRASKA
Haneesha Rachumalla (Omaha)
NEVADA
Krish Sharma (Las Vegas)
NEW HAMPSHIRE
Vedhsai Thiriveedi (Nashua)
NEW JERSEY
Reanna Patel (Princeton)
NEW MEXICO
Sylvia Xu (Roswell)
NEW YORK
Aryana Adur (Jericho)
NORTH CAROLINA
Aviva Wang (Cary)
NORTH DAKOTA
Gayatri Gautham (Grand Forks)
NORTHERN MARIANA ISLANDS
Lya Kim (Saipan)
OHIO
Anuki Mudalige (Lewis Center)
OKLAHOMA
Emma Zhang (Jenks)
OREGON
Albert Liu (Beaverton)
PENNSYLVANIA
Tushar Mehta (Allentown)
PUERTO RICO
Lorena Pachiardi (San Juan)
SOUTH CAROLINA
Arjun Jain (Central)
SOUTH DAKOTA
Shourya Goyal (Rapid City)
TENNESSEE
Levi Dunn (Knoxville)
TEXAS
Arya Gurumukhi (Plano)
UTAH
Olivia Jiang (Salt Lake City)
VIRGINIA
Ani Nishanian (Alexandria)
WASHINGTON
Aadya Syal (Issaquah)
WEST VIRGINIA
Pavan Subramani (Morgantown)
WISCONSIN
Nikayla Washington (Milwaukee)
Saanvi Muduganti (Onalaska)
WYOMING
Joey Boyer (Greybull)
The National STEM Festival™ is proud to serve as an official programming partner of America250, alongside organizations committed to advancing innovation and STEM education. For more information, including submission guidelines, sponsors, and supporters, visit nationalstemfestival.com.
For more media and interview inquiries, please contact Actum at [email protected].
About EXPLR
EXPLR builds the future-ready talent pipeline by connecting curiosity to career. Students aged 13-19 engage in real-world, career-connected learning through digital content, industry-validated credentials, and live events. The ecosystem includes the National STEM Festival®, EXPLR Edge® digital credentials, and programs that enable employers to discover, connect with, and invest in emerging talent. Visit EXPLR.com.
SOURCE EXPLR
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