Aarush Tutiki ’26 has qualified for the 2025 Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF) in Columbus, Ohio, after earning top honors at the New Mexico State Science Fair.
He took second place in the overall ISEF Grand Prizes section for New Mexico and first in the Environmental Engineering, Energy & Materials Science category for his project, A Novel Alternative Method (NAM) to Improve Safety and Targeting of Chemotherapeutics and Genetic Therapies by Accelerating Biofunctional Nanocarrier Development. Aarush also received a special award from the American Vacuum Society.
Sowmya Sankaran ’27 took second in the Biomedical & Health Sciences category for her project, MED-X: An Explainable Multi-Agent System for Efficient Diagnostic Decision-Making Utilizing Multimodal Gastrointestinal Datasets.
Ahana Koushik ’28 earned an honorable mention in the Biomedical & Health Sciences category for her project, Epigenetic Analyses for Diabetes Risk and Resiliency.
Both Sowmya and Ahana qualified for ISEF earlier in the season.
Several Chargers were also recognized for their work in the junior division, although they’re not eligible to qualify for ISEF.
Sahana Paruchuri ’30 and Elena Schwarz ’30 finished first in the Math, Robotics, Software & Technology category for their project, Can AI Predict Diabetes? They also received several special awards: New Mexico Network for Women in Science and Engineering, CO2 & Greenhouse Gas, and ThermoFisher.
Max Berger ’30 and Felix Gray ’30 took third in Animal Sciences, Cellular & Molecular Biology for their project, Chickens and Robots: How Will They Interact? They also received the CO2 & Greenhouse Gas and ThermoFisher awards.
Iris Huang ’30 received an honorable mention in the Animal Sciences, Cellular & Microbiology category for her project, A Study in New Mexican Endangered and Threatened Animal Species. She also received the NASA EARTH System Science Award.
Andrew Auyang ’31 received the Central NM American Chemical Society Special Award for his project, What Is that Smell Bro?
Nine Chargers qualified for this year’s state competition, three times as many as last year.
