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Yahoo
16-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
75th Annual Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair Awards Teen Scientists from Around the World More Than $9 Million in 2025 Competition
Adam Kovalčík, 19, receives $100,000 Top Award for his development of a medicine that can stop viruses from copying genes and controlling infections at the world's largest pre-college STEM competition in Columbus, Ohio TARRYTOWN, N.Y. and WASHINGTON, May 16, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: REGN) and Society for Science (the Society) announced that Adam Kovalčík, 19, of Dulovce, Slovakia, won the $100,000 George D. Yancopoulos Innovator Award at the 75th Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair (Regeneron ISEF), the world's largest pre-college science and engineering competition. The award is named in honor of pioneering drug developer and Regeneron co-Founder, Board co-Chair, President and Chief Scientific Officer. Other top prizes went to projects in sustainable plastics engineering, air quality detection and advancement in prosthetics. The top winners were recognized during two award ceremonies: the Special Awards on May 15 and the Grand Awards Ceremony on May 16. In total, more than $9 million in awards and scholarships were distributed, honoring finalists for their creativity, innovative thinking and scientific rigor. The competition brought together nearly 1,700 young scientists representing 48 U.S. states and more than 60 countries, regions and territories. Adam Kovalčík, 19, of Dulovce, Slovakia, won first place and received the $100,000 George D. Yancopoulos Innovator Award for his new way of making the investigational antiviral drug galidesivir. Early clinical trials have shown this drug to be safe in humans. Animal tests show it may be effective against a broad spectrum of viruses. But it is expensive to produce. By starting with cheap materials from corn husk waste, he designed a shorter, more efficient way of making galidesivir. He cut the process from 15 to 10 steps and made almost twice as much drug in less time. He then used these reactions to create a new antiviral drug that may work even better. His new way to make these medicines can greatly decrease their cost, from $75/gram to about $12.50/gram. By making these medicines easier to produce, they are also easier to study, and if approved, more accessible, giving us more options to treat viral infections. Benjamin Davis, 16, of Wrentham, Massachusetts, received the $75,000 Regeneron Young Scientist Award for creating a desktop plastic recycling system. The user-friendly system can recycle 3D printer waste and other plastics. It turns them into filaments for 3D printing. Up to 67% of the filament used in a typical 3D printing project may end up as waste. Using electrical, mechanical and chemical engineering methods, Benjamin combined pultrusion (push-through) and extrusion (pull-through) processes. Together, this made the process about 45% more efficient. His device is faster than other home recyclers and creates a higher quality product. Its easy operation means nontechnical users can recycle and 3D print more efficiently. His design is an effective recycling machine that costs 90% less than commercial options. Siyaa Poddar, 16, of Chandler, Arizona, received the $75,000 Regeneron Young Scientist Award for her device, which rapidly detects toxic dusts. In the U.S. Southwest, toxic silica and uranium dusts from abandoned mines are a public health challenge. They contaminate the soil, air and groundwater, and can trigger autoimmune diseases like Sjögren's syndrome. Rates of Sjögren's syndrome are disproportionately high on Indigenous reservations in the Southwest, where many abandoned mines remain. Currently, there's no easy, fast or affordable way to measure how much of these toxins are in the air. Siyaa designed two low-cost detectors using chemicals that easily react with uranium or silica by changing color. She trapped these chemicals in a framework made of metal atoms and organic molecules to stabilize them. Her system is an affordable, easy-to-use way to monitor air quality. Samuel Skotnikov, 17, of Highland Village, Texas, and Chanyoung Kim and Eeshaan Prashanth, both 16, of Flower Mound, Texas, received the $50,000 Gordon E. Moore Award for Positive Outcomes for Future Generations for creating a brain-controlled bionic prosthetic leg. Current robotic limbs are expensive and can make movements feel unnatural. The team started by measuring the walking motion of their classmate, Aiden, with his usual prosthetic leg. They saw that the prosthetic's stiffness forced the remaining part of his amputated leg to work much harder than his other leg. They designed their prosthetic leg, Neuroflex, to read the wearer's brain signals through an EEG headband. The signals tell Neuroflex how the wearer wants to move, and Neuroflex uses its motors to support that movement. They also designed an ankle with more realistic joints. When the team tested their prototype on Aiden, it guessed the right movement 98% of the time. Their adaptable model could also relieve some of the cost burden of prosthetic limbs. "Congratulations to the winners of this year's Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair," said Maya Ajmera, President and CEO of Society for Science and Executive Publisher of Science News. "I am deeply inspired by the creative, passionate and dedicated finalists from around the world who have come together—across borders, cultures and scientific disciplines —in the shared pursuit of science. Adam's research into antiviral medicines has the potential to change the impact and scale of how people can benefit from such important life-saving treatments. His research gives me great hope for the future of global health and scientific innovation.' Now in its landmark 75th year, Regeneron ISEF remains the premier global stage for the next generation of scientists and engineers. This milestone year celebrates decades of scientific discovery, boundary-pushing innovation and international collaboration, uniting students from around the world in a powerful exchange of ideas. Through Regeneron ISEF and other STEM programming, Regeneron and the Society are fostering the next generation of STEM leaders who are pioneering solutions to improve our world. Since 2020, Regeneron has provided STEM experiences to over 3.2 million students, surpassing its goal of 2.5 million by 2025. "Congratulations to this year's extraordinary Regeneron ISEF finalists and winners,' said George D. Yancopoulos, M.D., Ph.D., co-Founder, Board co-Chair, President and Chief Scientific Officer of Regeneron. 'My own high school science project lit a fire in me that changed the course of my life. Today, I see these students carrying that same spark forward by asking bold questions, pushing boundaries and proving that innovative science can take on humanity's biggest challenges.' Other top honors from the competition include: XinYan Chen, 17, of San Gabriel, California, received the $10,000 Craig R. Barrett Award for Innovation for her mobile indoor formaldehyde detector. Formaldehyde is a chemical found in many household goods that can cause disease, including cancer. Other detectors work by either trapping chemicals until they are full, or by breaking them down with expensive materials. XinYan designed a low-cost material that breaks down formaldehyde into carbon dioxide and water. She used the material to build a device that measures and destroys the poison at the same time. Her device lowered the amount of formaldehyde in a closed box by almost 90% in 18 hours. XinYan's device makes it cheaper and easier to both measure and improve indoor air quality. Aleksandra Petkova, 18, of Sofia, Bulgaria, received the $10,000 H. Robert Horvitz Prize for Fundamental Research for her research on the relationship between a boat's speed and the shape of its wake. When a boat travels faster than the waves it makes in the water, it makes a narrower wake. This type of wake creates more drag on the boat, which slows it down. Aleksandra looked at aerial photos of wakes and tested wake angles using a remote-controlled boat and a yacht. She figured out how to use a ship's size to predict the speed it can travel before it starts leaving a narrow wake. Aleksandra's ship wake model could help ship operators minimize drag by traveling at the ideal speeds for their ships. Cory Seelenfreund, 17, of New Rochelle, New York, received the $10,000 Peggy Scripps Award for Science Communication for his study of the relevance of memory in the Prisoner's Dilemma. Prisoner's Dilemma is a classic game theory problem where two people accused of a crime decide whether to snitch or stay silent. Cory created computer simulations and mathematical models to test how selfishness and memory affect the game. Memory of just one game often improved results, but players with better memory won in more complex scenarios. He found the best outcomes when players had a variety of self-interested and altruistic behaviors. These findings can help design smarter AI bots and other programs that need to "get along" with humans. Uma Sthanu, 17, of Austin, Texas, received the $10,000 Mary Sue Coleman Award for Life Science Innovation & Impact for her research on regenerating nerve cells. The neurons making up the human brain are powerful but fragile. Disease and injury can damage neurons and scientists have not yet found a way to regrow them. Uma studied the effects of an important hormone-like compound called PGE2 on damaged brain cells. She used advanced techniques to study how PGE2 treatment affects these broken neurons in the lab. She hopes this work will help researchers find better treatments for brain diseases and traumatic brain injuries. Pragathi Kasani-Akula, 17, of Cumming, Georgia; Aarushi Pandey, 17, of Conroe, Texas; and Vrishank Chandrasekhar, 18, of San Jose, California, received the Dudley R. Herschbach SIYSS Award, which provides finalists an all-expense paid trip to attend the Stockholm International Youth Science Seminar during Nobel Week in Stockholm, Sweden. Ethan Yan, 15, of Burlingame, California, and Abigail Qi, 16, of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, received the EU Contest for Young Scientists Award. Their projects will represent Regeneron ISEF at the EU Contest for Young Scientists to be held this September in Riga, Latvia. For more information about the top winners and access to visual assets visit our media kit: The full list of Special Award ISEF 2025 Finalists can be found at: In addition to the Top Award winners, more than 450 finalists received awards and prizes for their innovative research, including 'First Award' winners, who each received a $6,000 prize. The following lists the First Award winners for each of the 22 categories, from which the Top Awards were chosen: Animal Sciences, sponsored by Society for Science Matthew Lo, 16, of Berwyn, Pennsylvania Behavioral and Social Sciences, sponsored by Society for Science Ameya Kharade, 16, of Nashua, New Hampshire Jesse Rumball-Smith, 17, of Wellington, New Zealand Biochemistry, sponsored by Regeneron Pragathi Kasani-Akula, 17, of Cumming, Georgia Biomedical and Health Sciences, sponsored by Regeneron Edward Kang, 17, of Upper Saddle River, New Jersey Uma Sthanu, 17, of Austin, Texas Biomedical Engineering, sponsored by Regeneron Chanyoung Kim, 16, of Flower Mound, Texas Eeshaan Prashanth, 17, of Flower Mound, Texas Samuel Skotnikov, 17, of Highland Village, Texas Cellular and Molecular Biology, sponsored by Regeneron Lilly Horowitz, 17, of Jericho, New York Chemistry, sponsored by Arc Institute Adam Kovalčík, 19, of Dulovce, Slovakia Computational Biology and Bioinformatics, sponsored by Regeneron Arnav Sharma, 15, of Troy, Michigan Samarth Dunakhe, 15, of Chandler, Arizona Aryav Das, 16, of Noblesville, Indiana Qianheng Xu, 16, of Millburn, New Jersey Earth and Environmental Sciences, sponsored by Society for Science Lakshmi Agrawal, 17, of Bellevue, Washington Miriam Haddad, 18, of Saginaw, Michigan Embedded Systems, sponsored by HP Maya Trutschl, 17, of Shreveport, Louisiana Energy: Sustainable Materials and Design, sponsored by Siemens Energy Oliver Wang, 17, of Falls Church, Virginia Engineering Technology: Statics and Dynamics, sponsored by Howmet Aerospace Foundation Benjamin Davis, 16, of Wrentham, Massachusetts Environmental Engineering, sponsored by Jacobs Bennett Huang, 16, of Great Falls, Virginia Jason Pan, 16, of Great Falls, Virginia XinYan Chen, 17, of San Gabriel, California Materials Science, sponsored by Howmet Aerospace Foundation Siyaa Poddar, 16, of Chandler, Arizona Mathematics, sponsored by Akamai Foundation Cory Seelenfreund, 17, of New Rochelle, New York Microbiology, sponsored by Schattner Foundation Abigail Qi, 16, of Baton Rouge, Louisiana Physics and Astronomy, sponsored by Jane Street Aiden Kwon, 17, of Rolling Hills Estates, California Aleksandra Petkova, 18, of Sofia, Bulgaria Plant Sciences, sponsored by Society for Science Aarushi Pandey, 17, of Conroe, Texas Robotics and Intelligent Machines, sponsored by Liquid AI Chinmayi Goyal, 17, of Yorktown, New York Timothy Wilson, 18, of Pennant Hills, Australia Systems Software, sponsored by Microsoft Ram Sivaraman, 17, of Acton, Massachusetts Technology Enhances the Arts, sponsored by Midjourney Punnawit Ponnirun, 17, of Chiang Mai, Thailand Sataporn Thanapanyakul, 17, of Chiang Mai, Thailand Siwakorn Suwannahong, 17, of Chiang Mai, Thailand Translational Medical Science, sponsored by Regeneron Audrey Zheng, 16, of Wexford, Pennsylvania Vrishank Chandrasekhar, 18, of San Jose, California The full list of all award-winning ISEF 2025 finalists is available here. View all the finalists' research here. About the Regeneron International Science and Engineering FairThe Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair (Regeneron ISEF), a program of Society for Science celebrating 75 years, is the world's largest global science competition for high school students. Through a global network of local, regional and national science fairs, millions of students are encouraged to explore their passion for scientific inquiry. Each spring, a group of these students is selected as finalists and offered the opportunity to compete for approximately U.S. $9 million in awards and scholarships. In 2019, Regeneron became the title sponsor of ISEF to help reward and celebrate the best and brightest young minds globally and encourage them to pursue careers in STEM to positively impact the world. Regeneron ISEF is supported by a community of additional sponsors, Adam R. Scripps Foundation, Akamai Foundation, Aramco, Arc Institute, Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, Howmet Aerospace Foundation, HP, Insaco, Intel, Jacobs, Jane Street, Liquid AI, Microsoft, Midjourney, Schattner Foundation, Siemens Energy, The Ohio State University, Battelle, Caltech, Cesco, Cisco, COSI, GoFundMe, Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams, JobsOhio, Johnson Energy Holdings. Many are entrepreneurs across a wide range of industries. Learn more at About Society for Science Society for Science is a champion for science, dedicated to promoting the understanding and appreciation of science and the vital role it plays in human advancement. Established in 1921, Society for Science is best known for its award-winning journalism through Science News and Science News Explores, its world-class science research competitions for students, including the Regeneron Science Talent Search, the Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair and the Thermo Fisher Scientific Junior Innovators Challenge, and its STEM Outreach programming that seeks to ensure that all students have an opportunity to pursue a career in STEM. A 501(c)(3) membership organization, Society for Science is committed to inform, educate and inspire. Learn more at and follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Snapchat (Society4Science). About Regeneron Regeneron (NASDAQ: REGN) is a leading biotechnology company that invents, develops and commercializes life-transforming medicines for people with serious diseases. Founded and led by physician-scientists, our unique ability to repeatedly and consistently translate science into medicine has led to numerous approved treatments and product candidates in development, most of which were homegrown in our laboratories. Our medicines and pipeline are designed to help patients with eye diseases, allergic and inflammatory diseases, cancer, cardiovascular and metabolic diseases, hematologic conditions, infectious diseases and rare diseases. Regeneron believes that operating as a good corporate citizen is crucial to delivering on our mission. We approach corporate responsibility with three goals in mind: to improve the lives of people with serious disease, to foster a culture of integrity and excellence and to build sustainable communities. Regeneron is proud to be included on the Dow Jones Sustainability World Index and the Civic 50 list of the most 'community-minded' companies in the U.S. Throughout the year, Regeneron empowers and supports employees to give back through our volunteering, pro-bono and matching gift programs. Our most significant philanthropic commitments are in the area of science education, including the Regeneron Science Talent Search and the Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF). For more information, please visit or follow Regeneron on LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook or X. Media Contacts Joseph Brown, Regeneron 386-283-1323, Gayle Kansagor, Society for Science 703-489-1131, gkansagor@ in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
16-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
75th Annual Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair Awards Teen Scientists from Around the World More Than $9 Million in 2025 Competition
Adam Kovalčík, 19, receives $100,000 Top Award for his development of a medicine that can stop viruses from copying genes and controlling infections at the world's largest pre-college STEM competition in Columbus, Ohio TARRYTOWN, N.Y. and WASHINGTON, May 16, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and Society for Science (the Society) announced that Adam Kovalčík, 19, of Dulovce, Slovakia, won the $100,000 George D. Yancopoulos Innovator Award at the 75th Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair (Regeneron ISEF), the world's largest pre-college science and engineering competition. The award is named in honor of pioneering drug developer and Regeneron co-Founder, Board co-Chair, President and Chief Scientific Officer. Other top prizes went to projects in sustainable plastics engineering, air quality detection and advancement in prosthetics. The top winners were recognized during two award ceremonies: the Special Awards on May 15 and the Grand Awards Ceremony on May 16. In total, more than $9 million in awards and scholarships were distributed, honoring finalists for their creativity, innovative thinking and scientific rigor. The competition brought together nearly 1,700 young scientists representing 48 U.S. states and more than 60 countries, regions and territories. Adam Kovalčík, 19, of Dulovce, Slovakia, won first place and received the $100,000 George D. Yancopoulos Innovator Award for his new way of making the investigational antiviral drug galidesivir. Early clinical trials have shown this drug to be safe in humans. Animal tests show it may be effective against a broad spectrum of viruses. But it is expensive to produce. By starting with cheap materials from corn husk waste, he designed a shorter, more efficient way of making galidesivir. He cut the process from 15 to 10 steps and made almost twice as much drug in less time. He then used these reactions to create a new antiviral drug that may work even better. His new way to make these medicines can greatly decrease their cost, from $75/gram to about $12.50/gram. By making these medicines easier to produce, they are also easier to study, and if approved, more accessible, giving us more options to treat viral infections. Benjamin Davis, 16, of Wrentham, Massachusetts, received the $75,000 Regeneron Young Scientist Award for creating a desktop plastic recycling system. The user-friendly system can recycle 3D printer waste and other plastics. It turns them into filaments for 3D printing. Up to 67% of the filament used in a typical 3D printing project may end up as waste. Using electrical, mechanical and chemical engineering methods, Benjamin combined pultrusion (push-through) and extrusion (pull-through) processes. Together, this made the process about 45% more efficient. His device is faster than other home recyclers and creates a higher quality product. Its easy operation means nontechnical users can recycle and 3D print more efficiently. His design is an effective recycling machine that costs 90% less than commercial options. Siyaa Poddar, 16, of Chandler, Arizona, received the $75,000 Regeneron Young Scientist Award for her device, which rapidly detects toxic dusts. In the U.S. Southwest, toxic silica and uranium dusts from abandoned mines are a public health challenge. They contaminate the soil, air and groundwater, and can trigger autoimmune diseases like Sjögren's syndrome. Rates of Sjögren's syndrome are disproportionately high on Indigenous reservations in the Southwest, where many abandoned mines remain. Currently, there's no easy, fast or affordable way to measure how much of these toxins are in the air. Siyaa designed two low-cost detectors using chemicals that easily react with uranium or silica by changing color. She trapped these chemicals in a framework made of metal atoms and organic molecules to stabilize them. Her system is an affordable, easy-to-use way to monitor air quality. Samuel Skotnikov, 17, of Highland Village, Texas, and Chanyoung Kim and Eeshaan Prashanth, both 16, of Flower Mound, Texas, received the $50,000 Gordon E. Moore Award for Positive Outcomes for Future Generations for creating a brain-controlled bionic prosthetic leg. Current robotic limbs are expensive and can make movements feel unnatural. The team started by measuring the walking motion of their classmate, Aiden, with his usual prosthetic leg. They saw that the prosthetic's stiffness forced the remaining part of his amputated leg to work much harder than his other leg. They designed their prosthetic leg, Neuroflex, to read the wearer's brain signals through an EEG headband. The signals tell Neuroflex how the wearer wants to move, and Neuroflex uses its motors to support that movement. They also designed an ankle with more realistic joints. When the team tested their prototype on Aiden, it guessed the right movement 98% of the time. Their adaptable model could also relieve some of the cost burden of prosthetic limbs. "Congratulations to the winners of this year's Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair," said Maya Ajmera, President and CEO of Society for Science and Executive Publisher of Science News. "I am deeply inspired by the creative, passionate and dedicated finalists from around the world who have come together—across borders, cultures and scientific disciplines —in the shared pursuit of science. Adam's research into antiviral medicines has the potential to change the impact and scale of how people can benefit from such important life-saving treatments. His research gives me great hope for the future of global health and scientific innovation." Now in its landmark 75th year, Regeneron ISEF remains the premier global stage for the next generation of scientists and engineers. This milestone year celebrates decades of scientific discovery, boundary-pushing innovation and international collaboration, uniting students from around the world in a powerful exchange of ideas. Through Regeneron ISEF and other STEM programming, Regeneron and the Society are fostering the next generation of STEM leaders who are pioneering solutions to improve our world. Since 2020, Regeneron has provided STEM experiences to over 3.2 million students, surpassing its goal of 2.5 million by 2025. "Congratulations to this year's extraordinary Regeneron ISEF finalists and winners," said George D. Yancopoulos, M.D., Ph.D., co-Founder, Board co-Chair, President and Chief Scientific Officer of Regeneron. "My own high school science project lit a fire in me that changed the course of my life. Today, I see these students carrying that same spark forward by asking bold questions, pushing boundaries and proving that innovative science can take on humanity's biggest challenges." Other top honors from the competition include: XinYan Chen, 17, of San Gabriel, California, received the $10,000 Craig R. Barrett Award for Innovation for her mobile indoor formaldehyde detector. Formaldehyde is a chemical found in many household goods that can cause disease, including cancer. Other detectors work by either trapping chemicals until they are full, or by breaking them down with expensive materials. XinYan designed a low-cost material that breaks down formaldehyde into carbon dioxide and water. She used the material to build a device that measures and destroys the poison at the same time. Her device lowered the amount of formaldehyde in a closed box by almost 90% in 18 hours. XinYan's device makes it cheaper and easier to both measure and improve indoor air quality. Aleksandra Petkova, 18, of Sofia, Bulgaria, received the $10,000 H. Robert Horvitz Prize for Fundamental Research for her research on the relationship between a boat's speed and the shape of its wake. When a boat travels faster than the waves it makes in the water, it makes a narrower wake. This type of wake creates more drag on the boat, which slows it down. Aleksandra looked at aerial photos of wakes and tested wake angles using a remote-controlled boat and a yacht. She figured out how to use a ship's size to predict the speed it can travel before it starts leaving a narrow wake. Aleksandra's ship wake model could help ship operators minimize drag by traveling at the ideal speeds for their ships. Cory Seelenfreund, 17, of New Rochelle, New York, received the $10,000 Peggy Scripps Award for Science Communication for his study of the relevance of memory in the Prisoner's Dilemma. Prisoner's Dilemma is a classic game theory problem where two people accused of a crime decide whether to snitch or stay silent. Cory created computer simulations and mathematical models to test how selfishness and memory affect the game. Memory of just one game often improved results, but players with better memory won in more complex scenarios. He found the best outcomes when players had a variety of self-interested and altruistic behaviors. These findings can help design smarter AI bots and other programs that need to "get along" with humans. Uma Sthanu, 17, of Austin, Texas, received the $10,000 Mary Sue Coleman Award for Life Science Innovation & Impact for her research on regenerating nerve cells. The neurons making up the human brain are powerful but fragile. Disease and injury can damage neurons and scientists have not yet found a way to regrow them. Uma studied the effects of an important hormone-like compound called PGE2 on damaged brain cells. She used advanced techniques to study how PGE2 treatment affects these broken neurons in the lab. She hopes this work will help researchers find better treatments for brain diseases and traumatic brain injuries. Pragathi Kasani-Akula, 17, of Cumming, Georgia; Aarushi Pandey, 17, of Conroe, Texas; and Vrishank Chandrasekhar, 18, of San Jose, California, received the Dudley R. Herschbach SIYSS Award, which provides finalists an all-expense paid trip to attend the Stockholm International Youth Science Seminar during Nobel Week in Stockholm, Sweden. Ethan Yan, 15, of Burlingame, California, and Abigail Qi, 16, of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, received the EU Contest for Young Scientists Award. Their projects will represent Regeneron ISEF at the EU Contest for Young Scientists to be held this September in Riga, Latvia. For more information about the top winners and access to visual assets visit our media kit: The full list of Special Award ISEF 2025 Finalists can be found at: In addition to the Top Award winners, more than 450 finalists received awards and prizes for their innovative research, including "First Award" winners, who each received a $6,000 prize. The following lists the First Award winners for each of the 22 categories, from which the Top Awards were chosen: Animal Sciences, sponsored by Society for Science Matthew Lo, 16, of Berwyn, Pennsylvania Behavioral and Social Sciences, sponsored by Society for Science Ameya Kharade, 16, of Nashua, New Hampshire Jesse Rumball-Smith, 17, of Wellington, New Zealand Biochemistry, sponsored by Regeneron Pragathi Kasani-Akula, 17, of Cumming, Georgia Biomedical and Health Sciences, sponsored by Regeneron Edward Kang, 17, of Upper Saddle River, New Jersey Uma Sthanu, 17, of Austin, Texas Biomedical Engineering, sponsored by Regeneron Chanyoung Kim, 16, of Flower Mound, Texas Eeshaan Prashanth, 17, of Flower Mound, Texas Samuel Skotnikov, 17, of Highland Village, Texas Cellular and Molecular Biology, sponsored by Regeneron Lilly Horowitz, 17, of Jericho, New York Chemistry, sponsored by Arc Institute Adam Kovalčík, 19, of Dulovce, Slovakia Computational Biology and Bioinformatics, sponsored by Regeneron Arnav Sharma, 15, of Troy, Michigan Samarth Dunakhe, 15, of Chandler, Arizona Aryav Das, 16, of Noblesville, Indiana Qianheng Xu, 16, of Millburn, New Jersey Earth and Environmental Sciences, sponsored by Society for Science Lakshmi Agrawal, 17, of Bellevue, Washington Miriam Haddad, 18, of Saginaw, Michigan Embedded Systems, sponsored by HP Maya Trutschl, 17, of Shreveport, Louisiana Energy: Sustainable Materials and Design, sponsored by Siemens Energy Oliver Wang, 17, of Falls Church, Virginia Engineering Technology: Statics and Dynamics, sponsored by Howmet Aerospace Foundation Benjamin Davis, 16, of Wrentham, Massachusetts Environmental Engineering, sponsored by Jacobs Bennett Huang, 16, of Great Falls, Virginia Jason Pan, 16, of Great Falls, Virginia XinYan Chen, 17, of San Gabriel, California Materials Science, sponsored by Howmet Aerospace Foundation Siyaa Poddar, 16, of Chandler, Arizona Mathematics, sponsored by Akamai Foundation Cory Seelenfreund, 17, of New Rochelle, New York Microbiology, sponsored by Schattner Foundation Abigail Qi, 16, of Baton Rouge, Louisiana Physics and Astronomy, sponsored by Jane Street Aiden Kwon, 17, of Rolling Hills Estates, California Aleksandra Petkova, 18, of Sofia, Bulgaria Plant Sciences, sponsored by Society for Science Aarushi Pandey, 17, of Conroe, Texas Robotics and Intelligent Machines, sponsored by Liquid AI Chinmayi Goyal, 17, of Yorktown, New York Timothy Wilson, 18, of Pennant Hills, Australia Systems Software, sponsored by Microsoft Ram Sivaraman, 17, of Acton, Massachusetts Technology Enhances the Arts, sponsored by Midjourney Punnawit Ponnirun, 17, of Chiang Mai, Thailand Sataporn Thanapanyakul, 17, of Chiang Mai, Thailand Siwakorn Suwannahong, 17, of Chiang Mai, Thailand Translational Medical Science, sponsored by Regeneron Audrey Zheng, 16, of Wexford, Pennsylvania Vrishank Chandrasekhar, 18, of San Jose, California The full list of all award-winning ISEF 2025 finalists is available here. View all the finalists' research here. About the Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair The Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair (Regeneron ISEF), a program of Society for Science celebrating 75 years, is the world's largest global science competition for high school students. Through a global network of local, regional and national science fairs, millions of students are encouraged to explore their passion for scientific inquiry. Each spring, a group of these students is selected as finalists and offered the opportunity to compete for approximately U.S. $9 million in awards and scholarships. In 2019, Regeneron became the title sponsor of ISEF to help reward and celebrate the best and brightest young minds globally and encourage them to pursue careers in STEM to positively impact the world. Regeneron ISEF is supported by a community of additional sponsors, Adam R. Scripps Foundation, Akamai Foundation, Aramco, Arc Institute, Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, Howmet Aerospace Foundation, HP, Insaco, Intel, Jacobs, Jane Street, Liquid AI, Microsoft, Midjourney, Schattner Foundation, Siemens Energy, The Ohio State University, Battelle, Caltech, Cesco, Cisco, COSI, GoFundMe, Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams, JobsOhio, Johnson Energy Holdings. Many are entrepreneurs across a wide range of industries. Learn more at About Society for Science Society for Science is a champion for science, dedicated to promoting the understanding and appreciation of science and the vital role it plays in human advancement. Established in 1921, Society for Science is best known for its award-winning journalism through Science News and Science News Explores, its world-class science research competitions for students, including the Regeneron Science Talent Search, the Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair and the Thermo Fisher Scientific Junior Innovators Challenge, and its STEM Outreach programming that seeks to ensure that all students have an opportunity to pursue a career in STEM. A 501(c)(3) membership organization, Society for Science is committed to inform, educate and inspire. Learn more at and follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Snapchat (Society4Science). About Regeneron Regeneron (NASDAQ: REGN) is a leading biotechnology company that invents, develops and commercializes life-transforming medicines for people with serious diseases. Founded and led by physician-scientists, our unique ability to repeatedly and consistently translate science into medicine has led to numerous approved treatments and product candidates in development, most of which were homegrown in our laboratories. Our medicines and pipeline are designed to help patients with eye diseases, allergic and inflammatory diseases, cancer, cardiovascular and metabolic diseases, hematologic conditions, infectious diseases and rare diseases. Regeneron believes that operating as a good corporate citizen is crucial to delivering on our mission. We approach corporate responsibility with three goals in mind: to improve the lives of people with serious disease, to foster a culture of integrity and excellence and to build sustainable communities. Regeneron is proud to be included on the Dow Jones Sustainability World Index and the Civic 50 list of the most "community-minded" companies in the U.S. Throughout the year, Regeneron empowers and supports employees to give back through our volunteering, pro-bono and matching gift programs. Our most significant philanthropic commitments are in the area of science education, including the Regeneron Science Talent Search and the Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF). For more information, please visit or follow Regeneron on LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook or X. Media Contacts Joseph Brown, Regeneron 386-283-1323, Gayle Kansagor, Society for Science703-489-1131, gkansagor@ View original content to download multimedia: SOURCE Society for Science Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Forbes
08-04-2025
- Science
- Forbes
Teen Wins $250,000 For Discovering 1.5 Million New Space Objects
An 18-year-old student from Pasadena, California, placed first in the nation's oldest and most prestigious science and mathematics competition for high school students, winning $250,000. Matteo Paz was one of the finalists who submitted an original research science project in this year's Regeneron Science Talent Search. The students represented 39 schools across 16 states and the finalists competed for nearly $2 million in prizes and awards. Paz's project analyzed a massive amount of astronomical data collected by NASA's WISE explorer telecope. Using an algorithm he developed, he sorted through the information and identified over a million new celestial objects in the night sky. 'Congratulations to the winners of this year's Regeneron Science Talent Search,' said Maya Ajmera, President and CEO, Society for Science and Executive Publisher, Science News. 'The remarkable creativity and dedication of these students bring renewed hope for our future. Driven by their ingenuity, these young scientists are developing groundbreaking solutions that have the potential to transform our world and propel society forward.' Winning first place was a shock to Paz, who had no expectations after being named a finalist. 'I was just happy to have had the privilege. Not only placing in the top 10, but winning first place, came as a visceral surprise. It still hasn't fully sunk in,' remarked Paz. The path to victory was not without its trials, as earlier this year, he and his family had been evacuated from their home in Pasadena due to the Eaton Fire. During the project's development, he faced challenges in the code or quirks within the data itself. Fortunately, Paz found the process of refining algorithms, and mathematical complexities deeply engaging. As he looked through the primary results, he began seeing unique and unstudied objects. "What's exciting is that some variable phenomena I'm detecting don't have obvious explanations. These quirky, mysterious objects are exactly those that spark new science and physics," remarked Paz. Launched in 2009, NASA's Wide-Field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) collected 200 billion lines of infrared astronomical data (200 terabytes). However, this data had not been cataloged. In his Regeneron Science Talent Search project, Matteo Paz developed waveform-based machine learning methods to detect and characterize variables within the data. These methods included a machine-learning algorithm dubbed VARnet. Paz developed VARnet to detect variable objects specifically by combining machine learning with particular mathematical concepts. The first mathematical operation served to de-noise data while conserving short-timescale variation. The second operation, which Paz calls the Finite-Embedding Fourier Transform, serves to extract patterns in the data. Working together, these operations resulted in the identification of 1.9 million infrared variable objects, including 1.5 million new discoveries. Among those discoveries are objects like supermassive black holes, newborn stars, and supernovae. Matteo Paz first place research poster at the 2025 Regeneron Science Talent Search. The first ... More complete infrared variability survey - detection and classification of 1.9 million objects Listen to Paz explain his project in his own words Learn more about Matteo Paz here. After wrapping up the VarWISE project, Paz would like to continue his work in astronomy. He believes that, by using the discoveries from his project, we could properly measure the rate of expansion of the universe and challenge our understanding of its origin. However, he feels that finding funding over the next few years may prove difficult. To learn more about all of this year's top 40 finalists, visit the Society for Science.
Yahoo
23-03-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Students innovate in food, medicine and more at Las Vegas science fair
LAS VEGAS, N.M. — For those who don't store their avocados in the fridge, here's some bad news. Science says you're wrong. More specifically, 12-year-old James Junghans has found — using the scientific method — that you're wrong. James' project is one of many that filled the hall of New Mexico Highlands University's Student Union building Saturday for the Northeastern New Mexico Regional Science and Engineering Fair. This was the college's 67th year as host. Another student, Evie Odiamar, 13, tested the ideal fermentation times in glucose content for a batch of kimchi. She noted results might be different for adding fish sauce, which she said her family prefers. The projects weren't all food-related, though. The fair takes entries in 17 categories. Both avocados and kimchi fell under the biochemistry umbrella. The two projects awarded Best in Show among the ninth to 12th graders advance to the International Science and Engineering in Columbus, Ohio, held by the nonprofit Society for Science. Students are judged on a variety of criteria from methodology and design to execution, but they all have one thing in common — they must use the scientific method for a real-world application. Lilly Viteva's real-world application was to use science to examine ways to reduce plastic waste. 'Plastics make up most of the waste in our environments, in our oceans, even in our backyards. So what I wanted to do was find a quicker, more effective way, because recycling takes a lot more than just putting it into the blue bin. It takes time, energy, money — which most people aren't willing to spend,' said the 15-year-old Los Alamos High School student. Her method? To heat plastic until just below the melting point to classify it, thereby making otherwise flimsy plastic into a solid chunk that could be used in structures like homes. Daniel Rodriguez, a special awards judge at the show, was keenly interested in the project, noting other judges sent him over to check it out. 'It's very cool,' said Rodriguez, who works at Los Alamos National Laboratory and is presenting the special award on behalf of the American Chemical Society's Central New Mexico chapter. He said he looks for presentations that communicate the research — but conversation with the student is equally important. 'Never judge a project just by what you see,' he said. 'It's always the balance between that and the student.' Los Alamos High student Alyssa Sun, 16, aimed to use artificial intelligence to make medical diagnoses. She downloaded 6,000 of the 112,000 X-ray images of pneumonia-afflicted lungs available on the National Institutes of Health public database. Then she wrote 200 lines of code to create an AI model able to look at new X-ray images, compare them with the models and estimate the likelihood that a given lung X-ray contained pneumonia. She was pretty successful — her model boasts around a 95% accuracy rate, beating trained radiologists, she said, who report around 90% to 95% diagnosis accuracy for comparable tests. She got the idea from a friend who contracted pneumonia. When the friend saw Sun's project, she asked, 'Where was this when I had it?' Sun said. Joshua Bala, a student at Mandela International Magnet School in Santa Fe, got his idea for a medicine reminder app from someone in his life who takes medicine, 'and especially some people who have to take their medicine exactly on time, and they can't even be like 10 minutes late or 10 minutes early.' 'So I was wondering, there must be some other way that's more effective than just using memory,' he continued. He devised a study that found cellphone reminders greatly improved rates of on-timeness compared to plain memory or a sticky note on the fridge. The youthful inventiveness was an inspiration to Jenn Aldred, director of the fair and of its organizing body, the Achieving in Research Math and Science Center at Highlands. 'If you're feeling sad and hopeless in everything that's happening in the world, all you have to do is come down here and talk to these kids who have these amazing ideas for how to make the world a better place,' she said. Aldred, who holds a doctorate in geology, is in her third year organizing the fair. Since her first year, she's been pushing to increase participation by students from underresourced areas, noting northeastern New Mexico encompasses some of the wealthiest and poorest counties in the state. 'We need more support for these students,' Aldred said. The college received several grants to provide additional mentorship for students and for International Science and Engineering Fair training for teachers to help correct those disparities. Aldred said this has helped, citing the first- and second-time appearances of a few schools at Saturday's show. ' We know science is not equitable,' she said. 'We know that most sciences are not diverse. We know that most sciences are not inclusive, and I know that those are dirty words these days. But I believe wholeheartedly that we aren't going to solve any problems if we do not have DEI and our sciences. You'll see kids from all walks of life, different backgrounds ... ranges of mentorship and education, and it's truly inspiring.'
Yahoo
12-03-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Regeneron Science Talent Search 2025 Awards More Than $1.8 Million to High School Seniors for Innovative Research on Classifying Celestial Objects, Treating a Rare Muscle Disease and Solving a Long-Standing Math Problem
$250,000 top award goes to Matteo Paz in America's longest running and most distinguished science and math competition TARRYTOWN, N.Y. and WASHINGTON, March 11, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and Society for Science (the Society) announced that Matteo Paz, 18, of Pasadena, California, won the top award of $250,000 in the 2025 Regeneron Science Talent Search, the U.S.'s oldest and most prestigious science and math competition for high school seniors. Now in its 84th year, the competition celebrates and rewards young innovators who are applying their Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) talent and leadership skills to push the boundaries of discovery and address today's pressing challenges. Forty finalists, including Matteo, were honored this evening during an award ceremony at the National Building Museum in Washington, D.C, where they were awarded more than $1.8 million in prizes for their groundbreaking research, exceptional problem-solving skills and potential to shape the future of STEM. Matteo Paz, 18, of Pasadena, California, won first place and $250,000 for designing machine-learning algorithms to efficiently comb through 200 billion entries of raw NEOWISE infrared full-sky data. By analyzing tiny changes in infrared radiation, the AI sorted the objects into 10 classes. He found 1.5 million new potential objects. Second place and $175,000 went to Ava Grace Cummings, 18, of Smithfield, North Carolina, for creating a fruit fly model of STAC3 disorder, or Native American myopathy (a rare genetic muscle disease). She found that the common nettle herb, alone or combined with the experimental drug Tirasemtiv, improved movement in both adult flies and larvae. Third place and $150,000 went to Owen Jianwen Zhang, 18, of Bellevue, Washington, who solved a long-standing math problem about objects called 3-uniform hypergraphs. He proved a maximum value for how many 3-uniform hypergraphs can have similar structures but differing connections. Owen's results have applications in computer science. "Congratulations to the winners of this year's Regeneron Science Talent Search," said Maya Ajmera, President and CEO, Society for Science and Executive Publisher, Science News. "The remarkable creativity and dedication of these students bring renewed hope for our future. Driven by their ingenuity, these young scientists are developing groundbreaking solutions that have the potential to transform our world and propel society forward." The Regeneron Science Talent Search provides a national platform for high school seniors to showcase original, innovative STEM research that proposes novel solutions to real-world issues. Finalists are evaluated for their scientific rigor, originality, critical thinking, leadership potential and commitment to drive meaningful impact across crucial STEM fields. "The Science Talent Search changed my life. At my high school, STS winners were treated like star athletes, and I never imagined I would belong in such an amazing group of kids who were operating at a whole different level than I had ever seen," said George D. Yancopoulos, co-Founder, Board co-Chair, President and Chief Scientific Officer of Regeneron and a 1976 Science Talent Search finalist and top winner. "The experience of competing in STS and being named a top winner gave me the confidence to devote my life to science. So, congratulations to this year's finalists and winners, you are America's best and brightest. I hope this moment inspires you to push boundaries, challenge assumptions and use your brilliance to change the world." Other top honors from the competition include: Fourth Place: Logan Lee, 18, of Honolulu, Hawaii received a $100,000 award for helping sterile male mosquitoes survive in the wild. These males are important in mosquito control. Logan improved their survival by giving them a transplant of wild mosquito bacteria. His transplant helped the sterile mosquitoes grow faster and survive better in the wild. Fifth Place: Rivka Lipkovitz, 18, of San Francisco, California received a $90,000 award for using statistical modeling to study U.S. voter ID laws. She found that presidential election turnout dropped by 2.4% in states that passed strict laws after 2008. Turnout for midterm elections increased. Knowing how laws affect turnout can help shape future policies. Sixth Place: Melody Heeju Hong, 17, of Wantagh, New York received a $80,000 award for developing a powerful, flexible statistical model for mapping sites called trans-methylation quantitative trait loci (trans-mQTL) within the human genome. These sites are key to understanding the interplay between genes and environment in disease and aging. Seventh Place: Kevin Shen, 18, of Olympia, Washington received a $70,000 award for building a custom flight computer to control a 3D-printed airplane with oblique wings. These aircraft can be more fuel-efficient but are hard to control. His oblique-wing aircraft and flight computer improved flight efficiency by 9.2%. Eighth Place: Minghao Zou, 18, of Santa Clara, California received a $60,000 award for simulating protons to probe environments that produce subatomic particles called neutrinos. He created an algorithm mimicking extreme astrophysical conditions, such as electromagnetic and gravitational forces and interactions with nearby particles. He verified it using known cases of particle motion. Ninth Place: Thanush Patlolla, 17, of Cary, North Carolina received a $50,000 award for approximating the density of electrons using a finite nuclear model. Using a mathematical strategy called a density function, he created a model to map electrons in a nuclear simulation. The map increased the accuracy of energy distribution predictions by 0.6%. Tenth Place: Ray Zhang, 17, of Chantilly, Virginia received a $40,000 award for studying how to better treat drug-resistant Fusarium fungal infections. Ray studied how the fungus builds sticky communities of cells that resist drug treatment. He also found that using a combination of drugs better controlled the fungus. Akilan Sankaran, 17, of Albuquerque, New Mexico was named the Seaborg Award winner and selected to speak on behalf of the Regeneron Science Talent Search Class of 2025. The 40 finalists chose Akilan as the student who best exemplifies their class and the legacy of nuclear chemist Glenn T. Seaborg, who won the Nobel Prize for Chemistry in 1951 and served on the Society's Board of Trustees for 30 years. All other finalists received $25,000. All 40 finalists join a distinguished group of Science Talent Search alumni, many of whom have gone on to achieve world-changing careers in STEM, with some earning esteemed honors, including the Nobel Prize, National Medal of Science, and MacArthur Fellowship. In total, Regeneron awarded $3.1 million in prizes, including $2,000 to each top scholar and their school. Learn more about Regeneron Science Talent Search at and learn about all their research projects at our Virtual Public Showcase. For media resources, visit About Society for Science Society for Science is a champion for science, dedicated to promoting the understanding and appreciation of science and the vital role it plays in human advancement. Established in 1921, Society for Science is best known for its award-winning journalism through Science News and Science News Explores, its world-class science research competitions for students, including the Regeneron Science Talent Search, the Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair and the Thermo Fisher Scientific Junior Innovators Challenge, and its outreach and equity programming that seeks to ensure that all students have an opportunity to pursue a career in STEM. A 501(c)(3) membership organization, Society for Science is committed to inform, educate and inspire. Learn more at and follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Snapchat (Society4Science). About Regeneron Regeneron (NASDAQ: REGN) is a leading biotechnology company that invents, develops and commercializes life-transforming medicines for people with serious diseases. Founded and led by physician-scientists, our unique ability to repeatedly and consistently translate science into medicine has led to numerous approved treatments and product candidates in development, most of which were homegrown in our laboratories. Our medicines and pipeline are designed to help patients with eye diseases, allergic and inflammatory diseases, cancer, cardiovascular and metabolic diseases, hematologic conditions, infectious diseases and rare diseases. Regeneron believes that operating as a good corporate citizen is crucial to delivering on our mission. We approach corporate responsibility with three goals in mind: to improve the lives of people with serious disease, to foster a culture of integrity and excellence and to build sustainable communities. Regeneron is proud to be included on the Dow Jones Sustainability World Index and the Civic 50 list of the most "community-minded" companies in the U.S. Throughout the year, Regeneron empowers and supports employees to give back through our volunteering, pro-bono and matching gift programs. Our most significant philanthropic commitments are in the area of science education, including the Regeneron Science Talent Search and the Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF). For more information, please visit or follow Regeneron on LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook or X. Media ContactsJoseph Brown, Regeneron386-283-1323, Gayle Kansagor, Society for Science703-489-1131, gkansagor@ View original content to download multimedia: SOURCE Society for Science
