Nine Frisco ISD middle schoolers earned top placements at the Texas Science and Engineering Fair, advancing to the next round of competition.

Nearly 40 Frisco ISD students qualified for the state science fair at the Dallas Regional Science and Engineering Fair this year. Two FISD students earned state championships, with their projects receiving first place in their categories.

The nine state award winners listed below will join those who advanced straight from the Dallas fair to the International Science and Engineering Fair:

• Pratyush Shukla and Khajan Singh, Wakeland High School

• Vidhi Desai, Frisco High School

• Jonathan Shen, Reedy High School

Congratulations, students!

Junior Division

Nilaa Rajadeepan of Fowler Middle School

1st Place for “AI-Assisted Traffic Alert System” in the Software Design category

• ExxonMobil Award

Saketh Chatrathi of Pioneer Heritage Middle School

1st Place for “DanceBuddy” in the Technology Enhances the Arts category

• ExxonMobil Award

Liam Kwok and Nishad Parikh of Fowler Middle School

2nd Place for “Tuning Out Tremors: A Comparative Study of Tuned Mass Dampers Efficiency on Various Structures” in the Engineering Technology: Statics and Dynamics category

Sonika Bhattacharya and Shazneen Sheik of Pioneer Heritage Middle School

2nd Place for “Neuro-AI Method to Identify the Goldilocks Window for Optimal Emotional Regulation” in the Behavioral and Social Sciences category

Anya Mahesh of Fowler Middle School

3rd Place for “Detecting Autism with a Blood Test” in the Computational Biology and Bioinformatics category

Aarya Vilvaray and Swara Lokhande of Pearson Middle School

3rd Place for “Degrading Plastic: Enzymes vs. Nature” in the Microbiology category