March 26, 2024

The Texas Science and Engineering Fair (TXSEF) is an annual state science competition for students in grades six through twelve. To advance to the TXSEF competition, students must have placed at their district and regional fairs. This year’s competition was held in College Station, Texas on March 22–23, 2024. Students were judged on their document submissions (a 2 minute overview video, digital board, and presentation of physical boards) as well as their in-person interviews.

With more than 20,000 students in Texas starting the science fair process on their campuses, approximately 1,200 participated in this year's event, competing in 21 categories in the life and physical sciences across Junior and Senior divisions. Thirteen Plano ISD students earned 23 awards and distinctions at the competition, including Best in the State of Texas award in Life Science - Senior Division. 11 Plano ISD Senior Division students placed first, second, or third in their category and have earned the opportunity to attend the Governor’s Science and Technology Champions Academy. One Plano ISD Junior Division student placed first in their category and has been nominated to apply to the Thermo Fisher Science Junior Innovators Challenge. 

Top Senior Division projects advance to compete in the Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF). Two Plano ISD students qualified to advance to ISEF - they will join the seven Plano ISD ISEF qualifiers from the Dallas Regional Science and Engineering Fair to compete at ISEF in Dallas, Texas May 12-17, 2024. 

Best in the State of Texas

Senior Division, Life Science

• Prisha Bhat, Plano East Senior High School, Aqua-Arsenic Remediation: Analysis of the Oryza sativa metagenome and Wet-Lab Approach to Increase O. sativa Tolerance to Drought and Arsenic through Hyperexpression of Aquaporin genes OsNIP2;1, OsNIP3;2 and OsPIP2;2 (Year IV)

Image of Prisha Bhat and her project.

Special Awards

Junior Division

• Hiruni Wansapura, Robinson Middle School, Environmental Engineering, Sycamore Seed Inspired Fan Blade Design for a Portable Air Purifier - Engineers of Tomorrow Award | Garver Gives
• Akansh Karthik, Rice Middle School, Computational Biology and Bioinformatics, Detecting Stripe Rust in Wheat plants using Machine Learning - Texas Master Naturalist Special Award

Senior Division

• Alanna Polyak, Plano West Senior High School, Translational Medical Science, Utilizing Planarian Neoblast Stem Cells and Starfish Neural Networks on Lumbricus Terrestris as a Model Organism to Investigate Possible Cures and Preventative Measures for Central Nervous System (CNS) Disorders - Deere Family Scholarship
• Andy Qin, Plano West Senior High School, Systems Software, An Improved Cooperative Perception Framework for 3D Vehicle Detection using Multiscale Feature Extraction - Samsung Award
• Aarini Sen, Jasper High School, Physics and Astronomy,Searching For Exoplanets Using Deep Learning and an Innovative Phase Folding Technique - SpaceX Award

Category Awards

Junior Division

First Place*

• Akansh Karthik, Rice Middle School, Computational Biology and Bioinformatics, Detecting Stripe Rust in Wheat plants using Machine Learning

Second Place

• Shruti Paul, Schimelpfenig Middle School, Computational Biology and Bioinformatics, Gait Guardian: An IMU-Based Approach to Aid in Early Detection of Parkinson’s Disease
• Hiruni Wansapura, Robinson Middle School, Environmental Engineering, Sycamore Seed Inspired Fan Blade Design for a Portable Air Purifier

Third Place

• Nidhi Ajmera, Otto Middle School,  Earth and Environmental Science, Iron Laden: The Effect of Ferrofluidic Blankets on Subsurface Water Temperature 

*All first place junior division winners are nominated to apply for the Thermo Fisher Scientific Junior Innovators Challenge

Image of Junior Division participants.

Senior Division

First Place*

• Prisha Bhat, Plano East Senior High School, Plant Sciences, Aqua-Arsenic Remediation: Analysis of the Oryza sativa metagenome and Wet-Lab Approach to Increase O. sativa Tolerance to Drought and Arsenic through Hyperexpression of Aquaporin genes OsNIP2;1, OsNIP3;2 and OsPIP2;2 (Year IV)
• Manya Gummaraju, Plano East Senior High School, Cellular and Molecular Biology, Effect of Tartrazine and Curcumin on Retrotransposon Dysregulation and p53 Expression in Drosophila melanogaster

*All Plano ISD first place finishers qualified for ISEF 2024.

Second Place*

• Zehra Jaffery, Plano West Senior High School, Cellular and Molecular Biology, Selenoprotein O Protects Against Oxidative Stress and Incorporates Various Nucleotides in AMPylation
• Alanna Polyak, Plano West Senior High School, Translation Medical Science, Utilizing Planarian Neoblast Stem Cells and Starfish Neural Networks on Lumbricus Terrestris as a Model Organism to Investigate Possible Cures and Preventative Measures for Central Nervous System (CNS) Disorders
• Arya Gurumukhi, Plano East Senior High School, Energy: Sustainable Materials and Design, “The Bionic Leaf”: Developing a Novel Bi-Functional Nickel Oxide Catalyst to Use With the Bacterium Ralstonia eutropha for Artificial Photosynthetic Systems

Third Place*

• Vaani Chellamuthu, Plano East Senior High School, Computational Biology and Bioinformatics, Diagnosing Neurodegenerative Pathologies using Image-Recognition in CNN
• Evelyn Ding, Plano West Senior High School, Behavioral and Social Sciences, An Artificially Intelligent System for Early Detection of Developmental Speech and Language Disorders in Children
• Elgin Tawiah, Plano East Senior High School, Microbiology, Phage-Mediated Inhibition of Type IV Pili: Disrupting the Competence System and Mitigating Antibiotic Resistance in Streptococcus pneumonia
• Meryl Zhang, Plano Senior High School, Mathematics, A Race Against Time: A Hybrid, Efficient Multiplication Algorithm Utilizing Crossover Points
• Anirudh Narayanan, Plano East Senior High School, Robotics and Intelligent Machines, Swimguard: A Deep Learning-Enabled Intelligent Drone for Enhanced Situational Awareness within Water Environments by categorizing swimmer pose discernments

*All first through third place senior division winners qualify for the Texas Governor’s Science and Technology Academy

Image of Senior Division participants.

ISEF Qualifiers

• Keshav Anand, Plano East Senior High School, Thermal Powered Self-Stirring Pot: An Innovative Implementation of the Seebeck Effect, qualified from the Dallas Regional Science and Engineering Fair
• Prisha Bhat, Plano East Senior High School, Aqua-Arsenic Remediation: Analysis of the Oryza sativa metagenome and Wet-Lab Approach to Increase O. sativa Tolerance to Drought and Arsenic through Hyperexpression of Aquaporin genes OsNIP2;1, OsNIP3;2 and OsPIP2;2 (Year IV), qualified from the Texas Science and Engineering Fair
• Vaani Chellamuthu, Plano East Senior High School, Diagnosing Neurodegenerative Pathologies using Image-Recognition in CNN, qualified from the Dallas Regional Science and Engineering Fair
• Manya Gummaraju, Plano East Senior High School, Effect of Tartrazine and Curcumin on Retrotransposon Dysregulation and p53 Expression in Drosophila melanogaster, qualified from the Texas Science and Engineering Fair
• Arya Gurumukhi, Plano East Senior High School, “The Bionic Leaf”: Developing a Novel Bi-Functional Nickel Oxide Catalyst to Use With the Bacterium Ralstonia eutropha for Artificial Photosynthetic Systems, qualified from the Dallas Regional Science and Engineering Fair
• Zehra Jaffery, Plano West Senior High School, Selenoprotein O Protects Against Oxidative Stress and Incorporates Various Nucleotides in AMPylation, qualified from the Dallas Regional Science and Engineering Fair
• Chloe Lee, Plano East Senior High School, Chemical Modification of Acetaminophen (Tylenol®) to Decrease Liver Toxicity, qualified from the Dallas Regional Science and Engineering Fair
• Katherine Lee, Plano West Senior High School, Finding an Accessible, Environmentally Friendly Solution to Water Purification II, qualified from the Dallas Regional Science and Engineering Fair
• Ryan Xu, Jasper High School, GIVS: A Novel, Generative Artificial Intelligence Vision System for the Visually Impaired, qualified from the Dallas Regional Science and Engineering Fair