The STEM fair award ceremony occurred on February 6th, 2026, in Eleanor Roosevelt High School’s Auditorium, during which 55 out of the ~300 students who participated received awards for their hard work and dedication. On February 4th, multiple judges came to the school to carefully look at every project and decide which ones were the best in their respective categories. With the sheer number of projects present to look at and the qualities that the judges must consider for each, the decisions were tough and thoroughly thought over, which is one of the reasons why science fair is a very difficult competition for many.
The International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF), aka science fair, is the world’s largest STEM competition, sponsored by Regeron. Around 5,000 students from 64 different countries compete in the event, where Regeron distributes ~$22 million in awards, prizes, and scholarships to the winners. Due to the stakes, the science fair is very competitive, with many people either wishing to win the prize money or wanting recognition. The difficulty from the science fair comes from the multiple different guidelines that need to be followed for the project to be graded well, let alone submitted. From the display regulations like the size of the project and the items allowed on display, to the general rules like needing a qualified sponsor depending on what project you’re doing, the ISEF is a competition that students must prepare for and carefully complete.
Around 300 students at Eleanor Roosevelt High School participated in the STEM fair this year, with each project being very intricate and well-researched. Senior John Kelley, a student a part of the internship program and a first-place winner in the Engineering Technology: Statics and Dynamics category, states that he had difficulty finding a software to analyze due to the number of roadblocks he encountered such as the software being “difficult to install or wouldn’t have a graphical user interface.” Senior Angie Perez-Montiel, a Research Practicum student who won first place in Material Sciences states that one of the most enjoyable parts of her project included the background research and putting the board together, as she “already [had] a fondness for forensic science which made the research intriguing.” Sophomore Agnes Ngoma, a third-place winner for the Material Sciences category stated that one aspect of her project that she believes contributed to her win the most was the amount of information on her board and utilizing the helpful tips her teacher gave to her. All of these students devoted a lot of time to making their projects the best they could, with or without guidance from a mentor.
The science fair is a very rigorous competition that really puts students’ abilities and knowledge to the test; therefore, we would like to take this opportunity to congratulate the following winners of this year’s science fair:
- Eva Worman | Third Place | Animal Science
- Helen Cheung | Second Place | Animal Science
- Veronica Mercado | First Place | Animal Science
- Temiloluwa Sonubi | Third Place | Behavioral and Social Sciences
- Aldrich Magpali | Second Place | Behavioral and Social Sciences
- Nhung Phan | First Place | Behavioral and Social Sciences
- Riley Galloway | Third Place | Biochemistry
- Glory Audu | Second Place | Biochemistry
- Kelly Alaniz | First Place | Biochemistry
- Kemi Aminu | Third Place | Biomedical and Health Sciences
- Abigail Tsegaye | Second Place | Biomedical and Health Sciences
- Nicholas Brown | First Place | Biomedical and Health Sciences
- Sam Kweskin | First Place | Biomedical Engineering | GRAND PRIZE WINNER!
- Esther Obisesan | Third Place | Cellular and Molecular Biology
- Andrea Bempah | Second Place | Cellular and Molecular Biology
- Gabrielle Nunyi | First Place | Cellular and Molecular Biology
- Laila Newsome | Second Place | Chemistry
- Charlotte Kusie | First Place | Chemistry
- Andrew Evans | First Place | Computational Biology and Bioinformatics
- Iris Gaycken | Third Place | Earth and Environmental Sciences
- Zoey Zhang | Second Place | Earth and Environmental Sciences
- Kadoh Bangu | First Place | Earth and Environmental Sciences
- Adrian Velasco | Second Place | Embedded Systems
- Savannah Wiseman | First Place | Embedded Systems
- John Earnest | Third Place | Energy: Sustainable Materials and Design
- Paul Chang | Second Place | Energy: Sustainable Materials and Design
- Michael Thoundayil | First Place | Energy: Sustainable Materials and Design
- Kai Waters | Third Place | Engineering Technology: Statics and Dynamics
- John Kelley | First Place | Engineering Technology: Statics and Dynamics
- Natalie Roeun | First Place | Engineering Technology: Statics and Dynamics
- Kadambari Ramachandran | Third Place | Environmental Engineering
- Leila Ruiz | Second Place | Environmental Engineering
- Xiaoquing Cai | First Place | Environmental Engineering | GRAND PRIZE WINNER!
- Agnes Ngoma | Third Place | Materials Science
- Olivia Wang | Second Place | Materials Science
- Angie Perez-Montiel | First Place | Materials Science
- Sergio Ramos | First Place | Mathematics
- Jolin Zheng | Third Place | Microbiology
- Kira Moore | Second Place | Microbiology
- Daniella Ogwo | First Place | Microbiology
- Leon Bailey | Third Place | Physics and Astronomy
- Keita Sakoba | Second Place | Physics and Astronomy
- Dustin Furnkranz | First Place | Physics and Astronomy
- Selina Sanders | Third Place | Plant Sciences
- Sasha Conteh | Second Place | Plant Sciences
- Violet Stallings | First Place | Plant Sciences
- Michael Onuzulike | Third Place | Robotics and Intelligent Machines
- Yeltzin Hernandez | Second Place | Robotics and Intelligent Machines
- Aarav Bhut | First Place | Robotics and Intelligent Machines
- Frank Calhoun Jr | Third Place | Software Design
- Abisaac Pearce | Second Place | Software Design
- Karl Konchou | First Place | Software Design
- Aaliyah Jamison | First Place | Technology Enhances the Arts
- Bailey Price | Second Place | Translational Medical Science
- Lydia Chang | First Place | Translational Medical Science
Biology teacher Dr. Robinson standing next to principal Dr. Barnes as she is beginning the ceremony.
Senior Daniella Ogwo recieving her award from Science and Tech Coordinator Dr. Peters-Smith for winning first place in Microbiology.
Dustin Furnkranz being congratulated by Principal Dr. Barnes for his first place victory in Physics and Astronomy.
Grand prize winner Sam Kweskin walking across stage after recieving his certificate.
Photo of one of the winning STEM fair boards, belonging to senior John Kelley.
Final line up of this year’s science fair winners.