Max Berger ’30 and Balraj Sandu ’30 received an honorable mention and a sixth-place finish for their science fair project, Music and Cognitive Performance: Effects on Memory Recall, in the 2026 STEM Choice Awards, a global virtual event. Their project investigated how different kinds of music affect memory in people of different ages.
“We chose this topic because memory often gets weaker with age, and we wanted to find a simple way to help improve it,” they said in their project description. “We tested different kinds of music, including instrumental (non-lyrical) music, to see how they influenced memory.” Their results showed that music improved memory across all age groups by up to 21.5%.
Students from around the world submitted more than 200 entries across 21 categories. Their project placed highest among U.S. entries.
As eighth graders, Max and Balraj presented their work at the New Mexico State Science & Engineering Fair before taking it to the STEM Choice Awards.
