Greater San Diego Science and Engineering Fair Students Win 8 Awards at the 76th Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair

SAN DIEGO, Oct. 12, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- The 76th Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF), the world's largest precollege science and engineering competition, concluded on May 15 with the Grand Awards ceremony in host city Phoenix, Arizona. Of the tens of millions of students who competed in science fairs around the world this year, about 1,700 finalists from 365 affiliated fairs in more than 60 countries, regions and territories earned a place at ISEF, including 11 from the Greater San Diego Science and Engineering Fair (GSDSEF), two of whom qualified through the California Science and Engineering Fair (CSEF). These finalists competed for more than $7 million in prizes, with GSDSEF students winning eight awards, including second-place, third-place and four fourth-place awards, for a total of $6,300.

Detailed results below:

Behavioral and Social Sciences
Janet Yang, Grade 11, Canyon Crest Academy, "Neuro-Behavioral Convergence: A Multimodal Approach to Stroke Risk Assessment"
- ISEF Finalist

Biomedical Engineering
Kayley Xu, Grade 11, The Bishop's School, "Visual Field Redirection for Central Vision Loss: Passive Metasurface Design and Computational PRL Prescription"
- Grand Award: Fourth Award of $600

Cellular and Molecular Biology
Claire Lim, Grade 11, Canyon Crest Academy, "Inducible TLR4 Decoy for Targeting Microglial Activation to Reduce Neuronal Degeneration in Parkinson's Disease"
- Grand Award: Fourth Award of $600

Chemistry
Ihan Sung, Grade 11, Eastlake High School, "Renewable Ammonia Electrochemical Synthesis by Glow Discharge with an Iron-Based Catalyst"
- Grand Award: Fourth Award of $600
- Special Award: Aramco Excellence in Energy and Environmental Stewardship Second Award of $300

Computational Biology and Bioinformatics
Charles Brum, Grade 9, Cathedral Catholic High School, "BeeCast: A Model to Predict and Enable Prevention of Bee Colony Collapse"
- ISEF Finalist

Emma Liu, Grade 11, The Bishop's School, "Computational Pipeline for High-Throughput 3D Quantification of Cell States in Polymorphonuclear Neutrophils"
- Grand Award: Third Award of $1,200

Ryan Rezaei, Grade 12, Canyon Crest Academy, "Unifying Protein Function Prediction With PLMs"
- ISEF Finalist

Embedded Systems
Ethan Hu, Grade 9, The Bishop's School, "Configurable Electromagnetic Refreshable Tactile Display with FDM Printable Bistable Cam"
- Grand Award: Fourth Award of $600

Engineering Technology: Statics and Dynamics
Shounak Ray Chaudhuri, Grade 12, Francis Parker School, "Novel Scalable Autonomous Vehicle Systems for Emerging Markets"
- Grand Award: Second Award of $2,400
- Special Award: INCOSE Honorable Mention

Robotics and Intelligent Machines
Giles Del Priore & Ronald Wyatt: Grade 12, Eastlake High School, "Design and Evaluation of a Behaviorally Grounded, Caregiver-Governed AI Companion for Individuals With Memory Impairment"
- ISEF Finalists

Full results and project showcase are available online.

About the GSDSEF

Since 1955, the Greater San Diego Science and Engineering Fair (GSDSEF) has provided an inspiring experience in science and engineering for tens of thousands of San Diego and Imperial County students, motivating them to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics. This regional competition challenges students to go beyond classroom studies to do independent research — to ask compelling questions, to design and implement innovative solutions, and to present and defend results to judges who are professionals in their fields. The GSDSEF brings together 800 of the best middle and high school students, 400+ judges who are professionals in their fields and over 60 professional societies and organizations, with more than $40,000 in prizes awarded.

The GSDSEF fosters creativity and innovation through inquiry, celebrates students' STEM achievements, and showcases how young minds can make an impact in the present and future. Many of these student scientists are conducting world-class research and groundbreaking experiments in fields ranging from astronomy to zoology, such as the discovery of cures for diseases, formulations of new vaccines, cancer research, applying AI to enhance medical diagnoses, using biomimicry for water conservation, novel drone technology, advances in micro robotics and autonomous driving technology. The GSDSEF is the highest-level STEM competition in the region and one of the oldest, most respected and competitive in the world. The GSDSEF is a 501(c)(3) organization run entirely by unpaid volunteers. Learn more at gsdsef.org and follow us on LinkedIn and Instagram.

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