More than $40K Awarded to Middle and High School Scientists and Engineers at the 71st Greater San Diego Science and Engineering Fair

SAN DIEGO, April 11, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- The 71st Greater San Diego Science and Engineering Fair (GSDSEF) was held this year at the Balboa Park Activity Center, on Wednesday, March 12th. The awards ceremony was held on Thursday, March 13th at The Observatory North Park, with Ms. Vanitha Kumar, SVP at Qualcomm, as keynote speaker. $40k in prizes were awarded, with top students winning their way to the California Science and Engineering Fair and 8 Grand Award winners qualifying for the prestigious International Science and Engineering Fair. Additionally, a special award was presented for the first time to Ms. Karen Podvin in recognition of her 50 years of judging at the GSDSEF. Friday, March 14th of fair week was student visitation day, where several hundred students from San Diego area schools viewed projects, explored innovative research, and got inspired to pursue STEM and enter their local science fairs. Fair week ended on Saturday, March 15th, when the GSDSEF welcomed the general public to explore the students' outstanding projects.

Top winners were:

Karishma Saha, 8th Grade, Bernardo Heights Middle School, Grand Award, Structural Brain Volume Differences Across Cognitive Aging Stages: Evidence from MRI.

Uma Kattamuri, 6th Grade, Oak Valley Middle School, Grand Award, Effect of Increased CO2 Levels on CAM Plant Kalanchoe pH and Stomatal Density.

Skye Kelsey, 8th Grade, The Children's School, Grand Award: First Runner Up, The Effect of Arthrospira Platensis on Plastic Degradation.

Andy Feng & Henry Xu, 8th Grade, Pacific Trails Middle School, Grand Award: Second Runner Up, Mapping Invasive Species With A Drone And Machine Learning Algorithm In San Diego.

Saanvi Dogra, 11th Grade, Del Norte High School, Grand Award, Uncovering Molecular Mechanisms for Treatment of Congenital Heart Defects through High-Content Genetic Perturbation Screens.

Lilian Zeng, 11th Grade, Del Norte High School, Grand Award, Identifying Bacteriophages, Nature's Own Secret Weapon Against Antibiotic Resistant Bacteria, for Achromobacter.

Anirudh Kalyanaraman, 12th Grade, Mt. Carmel High School, Grand Award: First Runner Up, Adverse Cardiovascular Effects of Burn Pit Exposure: The Role of Oxidative Stress.

Nupur Bhalla & Hannah Im, 11th Grade, Del Norte High School, Grand Award: Second Runner Up, The Relationship Between Emotional Intelligence and Academic Burnout in Adolescents.

Kayley Xu, 10th Grade, Grand Award, The Bishop's School, Wearable Stethoscope Array and Localization Diagnosis of Cardiopulmonary Sounds.

Ryan Rezaei, 11th Grade, Canyon Crest Academy, Grand Award, Novel Material Discovery through Geometric Deep Learning and VAE Latent Space Diffusion.

Tarik Oguz, 11th Grade, Del Norte High School, Grand Award: First Runner Up, Small Changes, Big Impact- miRNAs in Lung Cancer Detection.

Joe Smith, 12th Grade, Stanford Online High School, Grand Award: Second Runner Up, Lost in the Stars: Chemical Tagging of Magellanic Clouds and Accreted Populations

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 $40k 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 conducting 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. Learn more at gsdsef.org and follow us on LinkedIn and Instagram.

Copyright © 2025 Greater San Diego Science and Engineering Fair. All rights reserved.

Media Contact:
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SOURCE Greater San Diego Science and Engineering Fair