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Plano ISD Students Place High at International Science and Engineering Fair

May 24, 2023

On May 18th and 19th, winners were announced in the Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF), the world’s largest international pre-college science competition. Student winners are ninth through twelfth graders who earned the right to compete at the Regeneron ISEF 2023 fair by winning a top prize at a regional, state, or national science fair.

image of plano isd students at Regeneron ISEF competition

Plano ISD ISEF Participants:
Shivani Nathan (Jasper High School) - Finalist
Alanna Polyak (Plano West Senior High School) - Finalist
Zehra Jaffery (Plano West Senior High School) - Finalist
Meryl Zheng (Clark High School) - Finalist
Prisha Bhat (Plano East Senior High School) - Finalist
Otto Beall (Plano East Senior High School; sitting above) - Finalist
Shriya Bhat (Plano East Senior High School) - Finalist
Andy Qin (Plano West Senior High School) - Finalist
Raghav Ramki (Plano East Senior High School) - Student Observer
Dhroov Bharatia (Vines High School) - Finalist
Jason Xu (Plano West Senior High School) - Finalist

This year, more than 1,600 high school students from more than 60 countries, regions, and territories were awarded the opportunity to showcase their independent research and competed for approximately $8 million in prizes.

Plano ISD had ten projects advanced to international competition by the Dallas Regional Science and Engineering Fair (DRSEF) and the Texas Science and Engineering Fair (TxSEF). Five projects captured category grand awards - one 4th place award, one 2nd place award, and three 1st place awards. Additionally, six projects received eight special awards. Altogether, Plano ISD students received more than $200,000 in scholarships and prize money.

Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF) 2023 Grand Awards

First Award of $5,000

Mathematics

The Easiest Hard Problem: A Heuristic Solution to the Two-Way Partitioning Problem Using Probabilistic Algorithms

Meryl Zhang, Clark High School

image of meryl zhang

Microbiology

Combating Pseudomonas Resistance: Cloning of the ampC Gene Encoding for Beta-Lactamase and Development of a Non-Toxic Allosteric Inhibitory Cocktail Therapy to Eradicate Pseudomonas aeruginosa

Shriya Bhat, Plano East Senior High School

image of shriya bhat

Translational Medical Science

The Earthworm Squirm: Multiple Sclerosis Hypnosis Investigating the Potentiality of an Alternative, Realistic Cure of Encephalomyelitis disseminata (Multiple Sclerosis) Using the Neoblasts from Dugesia tigrina (Planaria) on Lumbricus terrestris (Earthworms)

Alanna Polyak, Plano West Senior High School

image of alanna polyak

Second Award of $2,000

Plant Sciences

Agro-Rhizoremediation: Rhizoremediation With Agro-Transformed Oryza sativa to Facilitate Arsenic Degradation in situ (Year III)

Prisha Bhat, Plano East Senior High

image of prisha bhat

Fourth Award of $500

Cellular and Molecular Biology

Attenuation of Methylglyoxal Cytotoxicity With Fisetin Rescue in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

Zehra Jaffery, Plano West Senior High School

image of zehra jaffery and her project

Special Awards

Air Force Research Laboratory - United States Air Force

First Award of $750

The Easiest Hard Problem: A Heuristic Solution to the Two-Way Partitioning Problem Using Probabilistic Algorithms

Meryl Zhang, Clark High School

image of meryl zhang

American Mathematical Society

Third Award of $500

The Easiest Hard Problem: A Heuristic Solution to the Two-Way Partitioning Problem Using Probabilistic Algorithms

Meryl Zhang, Clark High School

image of meryl zhang

Association for Computing Machinery

Fourth Award of $500 

The Easiest Hard Problem: A Heuristic Solution to the Two-Way Partitioning Problem Using Probabilistic Algorithms

Meryl Zhang, Clark High School

image of meryl zhang

Central Intelligence Agency

First Award of $1000

VisiAide: A Multifaceted Self-Learning AI Assistant for the Visually Impaired Using a Novel Context-Based Approach

Dhroov Bharatia, Vines High School

Long Island University

Presidential Scholarship - The Earthworm Squirm: Multiple Sclerosis Hypnosis Investigating the Potentiality of an Alternative, Realistic Cure of Encephalomyelitis disseminata (Multiple Sclerosis) Using the Neoblasts from Dugesia tigrina (Planaria) on Lumbricus terrestris (Earthworms)

Alanna Polyak, Plano West Senior High School

image of alana polyak

USAID Agency for International Development 

First Award for $5000 (Agriculture & Food Security)

Agro-Rhizoremediation: Rhizoremediation With Agro-Transformed Oryza sativa to Facilitate Arsenic Degradation in situ (Year III)

Prisha Bhat, Plano East Senior High School

image of prisha bhat

University of North Texas at Dallas

$2,500 scholarship, renewable up to four years

Combating Pseudomonas Resistance: Cloning of the ampC Gene Encoding for Beta-Lactamase and Development of a Non-Toxic Allosteric Inhibitory Cocktail Therapy to Eradicate Pseudomonas aeruginosa

Shriya Bhat, Plano East Senior High School

image of shriya bhat

University of Texas at Dallas

$5,000 scholarship, renewable up to four years

Attenuation of Methylglyoxal Cytotoxicity With Fisetin Rescue in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

Zehra Jaffery, Plano West Senior High School

image of zehar jaffery