Four of the Academy’s 14 Science Fair Club members have been invited to attend the 2026 International Science and Engineering Fair in Phoenix in May — Sowmya Sankaran ’27, Ahana Koushik ’28, and Laasya Tutiki ’29 qualified to participate, and Sahana Paruchuri ’30 will join them as an 8th-grade observer.
Sowmya, who has also served as a mentor, helping team members learn how to develop projects using the scientific research process, says she believes this is the most the Academy has ever sent to the international competition. “We also had more state qualifiers this year than ever before — 12. This is four times the amount we had just two years ago!”
CENTRAL NEW MEXICO RESEARCH CHALLENGE RESULTS
Aariv Agrawal ’32 and Isaac Sewell ’23 (team)
- Participated as the Academy’s only 6th graders in their first science fair
Zoheb Barrantes ’31
- 2nd Place, Junior Earth & Environmental Sciences Category
- Climate Change Award
- Regional Research Challenge Junior Encouragement Awards
- Thermo Fisher Scientific Junior Innovators Challenge
- UNM BioTime Awards
- State Qualifier
Max Berger ’30 and Balraj Sandhu ’30 (team)
- 3rd place overall, Junior Division Life Sciences
- 1st place, Junior Behavioral and Social Sciences Category
- Goodmans Interior Structures Award
- Retired Director Karen Kinsman “If I Can See It, I Can Be It” Award
- Thermo Fisher Scientific Junior Innovators Challenge
- State Qualifiers
Eddy Bielejec ’28
- 1st place, Senior Material Sciences Category
- ISEF Alternate
- American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics Award
- International Test & Evaluation Association Award
- State Qualifier
Arjun Grandhe ’27
- 1st place, Senior Computer and Mathematical Sciences Category
- Albuquerque Astronomical Society Award
- American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics Award
- Yale Science and Engineering Association, Inc. Award
- State Qualifier
Anna Kalugin ’30
- 1st place, Junior Physics and Astronomy Category
- Thermo Fisher Scientific Junior Innovators Challenge
- United States Navy & Marine Corps Award
- State Qualifier
Ahana Koushik ’28
- ISEF Qualifier
- 1st place, Senior Chemistry Category
- American Chemical Society Award – New Mexico Section
- State Qualifier
Sahana Paruchuri ’30
- 1st place overall, Junior Division Physical Sciences
- ISEF 8th Grade Observer
- 1st place, Junior Computer Science Category
- American Association of University Women Young Scientist Award
- Goodmans Interior Structures Award
- International Test & Evaluation Association Award
- Louis & Stacy Abruzzo Award
- Perez Lopez Excel Award
- Regional Research Challenge Junior Encouragement Awards
- Richard Bild Memorial Research Challenge Award
- Thermo Fisher Scientific Junior Innovators Challenge
- United States Navy & Marine Corps Awards
- State Qualifier
Jayden Saenz ’30 and Mira Thompkins ’30 (team)
- Honorable Mention, Junior Plant Science Category
- Regional Research Challenge Junior Encouragement Awards
- State Qualifier
Sowmya Sankaran ’27
- 2nd place, Senior Robotics and Intelligent Machines Category
- Perez Lopez Excel Award
- Retired Director Karen Kinsman “If I Can See It, I Can Be It” Award
- Richard Bild Memorial Research Challenge Award
- State Qualifier
Laasya Tutiki ’29
- 2nd place, Senior Materials Sciences Category
- American Chemical Society Award – New Mexico Section
- United States Metric Association Award
- State Qualifier
NEW MEXICO STATE SCIENCE FAIR RESULTS
Zoheb Barrantes ’31
- Competed in the Earth & Environmental Sciences Category
Max Berger ’30 and Balraj Sandhu ’30 (team)
- 1st place, Junior Behavioral and Social Sciences Category
- Thermo Fisher Scientific Junior Innovators Challenge
- C02 & Greenhouse Gas Reduction Award
Eddy Bielejec ’28
- 2nd place, Senior Energy and Materials Sciences Category
Arjun Grandhe ’27
- 3rd place, Senior Physics and Astronomy
- Teresa Johnson Special Award
Anna Kalugin ’30
- C02 & Greenhouse Gas Reduction Award
Ahana Koushik ’28
- Coalition For Excellence in Science and Math Education (CESE) Award
Sahana Paruchuri ’30
- 1st Place, Junior Embedded Systems, Math, Robotics, Software and Technology Category
- 1st Place Overall – Junior Physical Sciences
- New Mexico Network for Women in Science & Engineering Award
- Thermo Fisher Scientific Junior Innovators Challenge
Jayden Saenz ’30 and Mira Thompkins ’30 (team)
- Competed in the Junior Plant Sciences Category!
Sowmya Sankaran ’27
- 2nd Place Overall and ISEF Qualifier
- 1st Place, Senior Behavioral and Social Sciences Category
Laasya Tutiki ’29
- 4th Place Overall and ISEF Qualifier
- 1st Place, Senior Energy and Materials Sciences Category
- New Mexico Network for Women in Science & Engineering Award
INTERNATIONAL SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING FAIR PARTICIPANTS & PROJECTS
- Ahana Koushik ’28: Development of a Rapid, Portable Lateral Flow Assay for the Detection of Microplastic-Drug Interactions
- Sowmya Sankaran ’27: Characterizing Cognitive Dynamics in AI: Designing Virtual Worlds for a Comparative Analysis of Persona-Driven Behavior in Individual and Collaborative Agentic Systems
- Laasya Tutiki ’29: Structural Optimization of Lipid-Based Nanocarriers to Improve Targeted Delivery of Curcumin and siRNA-Based Cancer Treatments
