The innovative scientific young minds in Frisco ISD submitted hundreds of projects to the recent Dallas Regional Science and Engineering Fair, earning awards, advancing to state and some going straight to internationals.
Of the Frisco ISD submissions, 25 projects from 39 students qualified for the upcoming Texas State Science and Engineering Fair. Several projects also received special awards.
First-place winners in each category compete in a round of grand prize judging to determine the best of the fair. These grand prize winners and grand prize runners-up advance directly to the International Science and Engineering Fair.
Anya Mahesh, Fowler Middle School - Grand Prize in the Junior Division’s Computational Biology and Bioinformatics category
Pratyush Shukla and Khajan Singh, Wakeland High School - Grand Prize Runner-Up in the Embedded Systems category
Vidhi Desai, Frisco High School - Grand Prize Runner-Up in the Mathematics category
Jonathan Shen, Reedy High School - Grand Prize Runner-Up in the Translational Medical Science category.
The DRSEF is a nonprofit organization that holds an annual science fair for secondary students from public, charter, private and home schools. The impressive performance of Frisco ISD students in this competition further underscores its dedication to providing high-quality curricular opportunities.
By the numbers
296 - Total FISD projects (149 high school and 147 middle school)
444 - Total FISD students (208 high school and 236 middle school)
15% of the FISD high school projects placed
27% of the FISD middle school projects placed
13 - First place awards (5 high school and 8 middle school)
12 - Second place awards (2 high school and 10 middle school)
15 - Third place awards (8 high school and 7 middle school)
2- Fourth place awards (1 high school and 1 middle school)
30 - Honorable mentions (16 high school and 14 middle school)
Best of luck in the next round of competition!
State Qualifiers, Senior Division
Yassin Ali of Frisco High School
First Prize for “UV Protein Damage Modeling” in the Computational Biology and Bioinformatics category
Varnika Ravi of Centennial High School
First Prize for “Environmental Determinants of Cancer Incidence: A Spatial Analysis” in the Earth and Environmental Sciences category
Pratyush Shukla and Khajan Singh of Wakeland High School
Grand Prize Runner-up for “When Plants Speak: Real-Time Electrophysiology-Driven Early Plant Stress Detection Through a Multi-Stage Embedded Biopotential Acquisition Pipeline and Edge-Deployed Supervised Machine Learning” in the Embedded Systems category
Vidhi Desai of Frisco High School
Grand Prize Runner-up for “Fractal-Type Structures Associated with the Riemann Xi Function in the Mathematics category
Jonathan Shen of Reedy High School
Grand Prize Runner-Up for “Smart Vision for AMD: A Closed-Loop, AI-Adaptive AR System for Real-Time Optimization of Reading Acuity in Central Scotomas” in the Translational Medical Science category
Akash Gundimeda of Centennial High School
Second Prize for “Lauric Acid Overexpression” in the Biochemistry category
Mithil Bhansali, Aditya Kundur and Arnav Mittal of Emerson High School
Second Prize for “Orbit Determination and Probabilistic Encounter Analysis of Asteroid 1942 EC Using Monte-Carlo MOID Simulations” in the Physics and Astronomy category
State Qualifiers, Junior Division
Anya Mahesh of Fowler Middle School
Grand Prize for “Detecting Autism with a Blood Test“ in the Computational Biology and Bioinformatics category
Roshan Kancharla and Arjun Kattla of Nelson Middle School
First Prize for “Modeling Enhanced Stem Cell Repair Efficiency using AI predictions“ in the Cellular and Molecular Biology category
Saloni Khanna of Pioneer Heritage Middle School
First Prize for “Microbial Fuel Cell Technology for Concurrent Bioenergy Generation and Wastewater Purification“ in the Earth and Environmental Sciences category
Raksha Shanmugavelayutham of Pioneer Heritage Middle School
First Prize for “Algae Biofuel: Future Fossil Fuel Replacement“ in the Energy: Sustainable Materials and Design category
Sarthak Shukla, Roshan Sriram and Charlie Wang of Cobb Middle School
First Prize for “Soil Moisture Detection Irrigation System With OLED“ in the Environmental Engineering category
Adya Appaswamy of Vandeventer Middle School
First Prize for “An Apple a Day Keeps Skin Cancer Away“ in the Materials Science category
Swara Lokhande and Aarya Vilvaray of Pearson Middle School
First Prize for “Can Certain Enzymes Biodegrade PET Better than Direct Sunlight or Water Exposure?“ in the Microbiology category
Saketh Chatrathi of Pioneer Heritage Middle School
First Prize for “DanceBuddy - A Machine Learning based visual tool to detect Bharatanatyam mudras (hand gestures) and mechanics using Google Teachable Machine and MediaPipe AI system“ in the Technology Enhances the Arts category
Sonika Bhattacharya and Shazneen Sheik of Pioneer Heritage Middle School
Second Prize for “Neuro-AI Method to Identify the Goldilocks Window for Optimal Emotional Regulation” in the Behavioral and Social Sciences category
Rithi Mereddi, Suhani Wadhwa and Shaili Wadhwa of Hunt Middle School
Second Prize for “Is It Bad To Be Basic?: Assessing the Effects of Different pH Levels on Enzyme Activity” in the Cellular and Molecular Biology category
Euna Chung of Lawler Middle School
Second Prize for “Facilitating Safer Fluids Through A Low-Cost Solution: Using King Oyster Mushroom Stems to Absorb Nickel Ions from Liquids” in the Earth and Environmental Sciences category
Idhant Katpalli of Lawler Middle School
Second Prize for “Smart Packaging System: Detecting Spoiled Food Using Sensors” in the Embedded Systems category
Liam Kwok and Nishad Parikh of Fowler Middle School
Second Prize for “Tuning Out Tremors: A Comparative Study of Tuned Mass Dampers Efficiency on Various Structures.” in the Engineering Technology: Statics and Dynamics category
Prakshay Pedhadiya of Fowler Middle School
Second Prize for “Optimization of Starch-Glycerol Biopolymers: Modulating Plasticizer Concentration to Achieve Accelerated Biodegradation Kinetics” in the Materials Science category
Ethan Lim of Fowler Middle School
Second Prize for “Quadratic Superiority: Analyzing the Asymptotic Convergence of Simpson’s Rule” in the Mathematics category
Nilaa Rajadeepan of Fowler Middle School
Second Prize for “AI-Assisted Traffic Alert System” in the Software Design category
Kirti Singh Navin and Isha Shetty of Pioneer Heritage Middle School
Second Prize for “Artificial Intelligence: The Helper or the Threat?” in the Technology Enhances the Arts category
Shreya Bansal and Sriya Mehta of Lawler Middle School
Second Prize for “Predictive Health Modeling: Leveraging Machine Learning to Evaluate Indicators and Estimate Likelihood of Bronchogenic Carcinoma” in the Translational Medical Science category
Special Awards, Senior Division
Arth Patra of Reedy High School
1st Place, Space Exploration Scholarship from the National Space Society of North Texas in the Physics and Astronomy category
Reyansh Singh of Reedy High School
1st Place, Space Exploration Scholarship from the National Space Society of North Texas in the Physics and Astronomy category
Sai Giridhar Chitturi of Emerson High School
1st Place, Senior Division, Best Electronics or Computing Project from Texas Instruments in the Engineering Technology: Statics and Dynamics category
Gautam Esvar of Emerson High School
1st Place, Senior Division, Best Electronics or Computing Project from Texas Instruments in the Engineering Technology: Statics and Dynamics category
Pranavi Venkata Chatrathi of Reedy High School
2nd Place, Senior Division, Best Electronics or Computing Project from Texas Instruments in the Engineering Technology: Statics and Dynamics category
Mithil Bhansali of Emerson High School
NASA Earth System Science Award in the Physics and Astronomy category
Aditya Reddy Kundur of Emerson High School
NASA Earth System Science Award in the Physics and Astronomy category
Arnav Mittal of Emerson High School
NASA Earth System Science Award in the Physics and Astronomy category
Arnav Katewale, Hrudhai Lothumalla and Arjun Subramanian of Heritage High School
Special Award from the Yale Science and Engineering Association in the Embedded Systems category
Special Awards, Junior Division
Nivedha Visuvanathan of Fowler Middle School
Best Engineering Project from the Society of American Military Engineers in the Engineering Technology: Statics and Dynamics category
Saloni Divakar Khanna of Pioneer Heritage Middle School
1st Place, Junior Division, from WEAT/AWWA in the Earth and Environmental
Science category
Saketh Chatrathi of Pioneer Heritage Middle School
Special Award from Citadel Securities Innovation Prize in the Technology Enhances the Arts category
Sarwesh Karimojju of Wester Middle School
Special Award from the U.S. Air Force in the Engineering Technology: Statics and Dynamics category
Abhyaan Revuri of Wester Middle School
Special Award from the U.S. Air Force in the Engineering Technology: Statics and Dynamics category
- Rachel McReynolds