February 24, 2023

The 2023 Dallas Regional Science and Engineer Fair (DRSEF) took place on February 18, 2023 in-person at Centennial Hall, Fair Park in Dallas. DRSEF holds an annual science fair for sixth - eighth grade (junior division) and ninth - twelfth grade (senior division) students from public, charter, private and home schools in Texas Education Agency Region 10. A total of 625 regional projects competed across both junior and senior divisions. 

To be eligible to compete, students begin by entering the science fair at their local campus. The top campus and district winners advanced to this regional fair. Regional winners in first and second places at DRSEF will advance to the Texas Science and Engineering Fair (TXSEF) at Texas A&M University in College Station, Texas on March 24-25. Winning TXSEF projects advance to additional state and international competitions.
Plano ISD advanced a total of 258 projects (represented by 300 students) to DRSEF from our campus fairs to the regional fair.

Plano ISD Results, Junior Division (grades 6-8)

• 61% of the first place awards
• 56% of the second place awards
• 50% of the third place awards
• 11 special awards (out of the 18 awarded)
• Grand prize, Physical Science – Ana Spiride, Rice Middle School
• Grand prize runner up, Physical Science – Veda Kumar and Emily Peikari, Renner Middle School
• Grand prize runner up, Life Science – Jessica Zhang, Rice Middle School

Plano ISD Results, Senior Division (grades 9-12)

• 76% of the first place awards
• 62% of the second place awards
• 67% of the third place awards
• 13 special awards (out of the total 27 awarded)
• Grand prize, Life Science – Alanna Polyak, Plano West Senior High
• Grand prize runner up, Physical Science – Meryl Zhang, Clark High School

All first and second place finishers in both the junior and senior divisions advance to the Texas Science and Engineering Fair (TXSEF). Plano students make up 57% of the DRSEF winners advancing to TXSEF. 

• Junior division: 24 projects represented by 28 students from nine campuses
• Senior division: 28 projects represented by 30 students from seven campuses

Additionally, six Plano regional projects from the senior division are eligible to advance straight to the Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF), which will be held in Dallas, May 13-19:

• Meryl Zhang – Clark High School
• Shivani Nathan – Jasper High School
• Otto Beall – Plano East Senior High
• Zehra Jaffery – Plano West Senior High
• Andy Qin – Plano West Senior High
• Alanna Polyak – Plano West Senior High

Junior-Division Category Awards

* indicates advancing to the International Science and Engineering Fair  

Grand Prize

• * Physical Science: Ana Spiride, Rice Middle School, Embedded Systems, title: Palm Reading: A Novel Computer Vision Approach to Translating Sign Language
• * Physical Science runner-up: Veda Kumar and Emily Peikari, Renner Middle School, Materials Science, title: Icy Insulation!
• * Life Science runner up: Jessica Zhang, Rice Middle School, Plant Sciences, title: Analyzing Super Absorbent Polymer (SAP) to soil mass ratios on plant properties to increase sorghum yields

Animal Sciences

• William Triplett, Renner Middle School, first place, title: Cat-lovers Guide to Catnip

Behavioral and Social Science

• Taryn Thathiah, Murphy Middle School, first place, title: Friday Night Lights
• Hasset Tesfaye, Murphy Middle School, third place, title: Gender Stereotypes

Biochemistry and Cellular and Molecular Biology

• Sohan Patel, Robinson Middle School, third place, title: So Many Types of Yeast
• Keshav Giridhar, Schimelpfenig Middle School, fourth place, title: Battle of the Herbicides

Biomedical and Health Sciences

• Emery LeBlanc and Samantha Skaggs, Schimelpfenig Middle School, first place, title: We Love Water
• Jacelyn Crear, Haggard Middle School, second place, title: Sunglasses vs. UV Light
• Ishaan Khera, Robinson Middle School, third place, title: Antacid Potency

Biomedical Engineering and Computational Biology and Bioinformatics

• Arnuv Modh, Rice Middle School, second place, title: An analysis of mRNA backbone in an aqueous solution data: are there base mutations that make sequences less susceptible to degradation?

Chemistry

• Marie Benson, Haggard Middle School, second place, title: The Relationship Between Buffering Capacity and pH in Different Beverages
• Camryn Kirksey, Wilson Middle School, fourth place, title: Recipe for Muffin Success

Earth and Environmental Sciences

• Violet Whittenburg, Renner Middle School, first place, title: Can Organic Pesticides Be Harmful To Beneficial Garden Organisms? 
• Aditi Srivastava, Robinson Middle School, second place, title: Hay, You're On Fire: A Study to Develop an Efficient and Eco-Friendly Fire Retardant Material to Prevent Field Fires
• Riya Chhaya, Schimelpfenig Middle School, fourth place, title: Testing different natural filters for drinking water

Embedded Systems

• * Ana Spiride, Rice Middle School, first place, title: Palm Reading: A Novel Computer Vision Approach to Translating Sign Language
• Shruti Paul, Schimelpfenig Middle School, second place, title: Automated Plant Watering System
• Archika Shukla, Bowman Middle School, third place, title: MSVI: A low-cost smart stick for the visually impaired
• Ashlee McFearin, Hendrick Middle School, third place, title: Seeing Through Color Blindness

Engineering Technology: Statics and Dynamics 

• Rulan Janzen, Otto Middle School, third place, title: Bow Straightener
• Artina Belivan, Renner Middle School, fourth place, title: Saving Lives: Camera to Detect a Kid’s Fall into Your Pool and More

Environmental Engineering

• Hiruni Wansapura, Robinson Middle School, first place, title: Bio-Breeze: A Biodegradable Air Filter Using Snake Plant Cellulose Fibers
• Nidhi Ajmera, Otto Middle School, second place, title: The Light and Shape of Things: The Effect of Roof Shape on Inside Temperature of Houses
• WIlliam Zhou, Rice Middle School, fourth place, title: Litter Picking Robot

Materials Science

• * Veda Kumar and Emily Peikari, Renner Middle School, first place, title: Icy Insulation!
• Aika Saadiq, Wilson Middle School, second place, title: I Can't Hear: Soundwave Cancellation by Soundproofing Materials in Rooms
• Austin Sunder, Rice Middle School, third place, title: Materials Science

Mathematics and Systems Software

• Beckett Mattern, Haggard Middle School, first place, title: The Best Shot in Tennis
• Sanjit Konda and Neel Paravasthu, Schimelpfenig Middle School, second place, title: Personal Medicine App

Microbiology

• Advaita Piduri, Rice Middle School, first place, title: The Tireless Battle of Phytoplankton with Global Warming!
• Chrishael Infante and Michelle Zheng, Schimelpfenig Middle School, second place, title: Which is the Best Hand Sanitizer?

Plant Sciences

• * Jessica Zhang, Rice Middle School, first place, title: Analyzing Super Absorbent Polymer (SAP) for soil mass ratios on plant properties to increase sorghum yields
• Celeste Wenick, Frankford Middle School, third place, title: Nature's Weed Killer
• Saadia Syed, Murphy Middle School, fourth place, title: Plant allelopathy powers!

Robotics and Intelligent Machines

• Kade Reich, Haggard Middle School, first place, title: Power Saving Blinds

Translational Medical Science

• Rebecca Jacob, Wilson Middle School, second place, title: The Effect of Digestive Enzymes on Glucose Levels in Foods
• Ishita Mokkapati, Rice Middle School, third place, title: An Novel Mobile Solution using Artificial Intelligence for the Early Diagnosis of Valvular Heart Diseases

Junior-Division Special Awards

Artina Belivan, Renner Middle School, title: Saving Lives: Camera to Detect a Kid's Fall to Your Pool and More

• Society of American Military Engineers (SAME) | best engineering project 
• Pediatrics Young Scientist Award

Wilson Geng, Renner Middle School, title: What fruits are good for people with diabetes?

• The Cooper Institute | Exercise/Health/Nutrition | third place

Rebecca Jacob, Wilson Middle School, title: The Effect of Digestive Enzymes on Glucose Levels in Foods

• Pediatrics Young Scientist Award

Mason Lien, Murphy Middle School, title: Algae Growth In Various Amounts of Fertilizer in Water

• WEAT / TAWWA | first place

Ashlee McFearin, Hendrick Middle School, title: Seeing Through Color Blindness

• Directed Energy Professional Society | second place

Emma Pearson, Haggard Middle School, title: Water, Water, Water... Are Total Dissolved Solids and pH Related?

• WEAT / TAWWA | second place

Taryn Thathiah, Murphy Middle School, title: Friday Night Lights

• Argument-Driven Inquiry | first place

Aika Saadiq, Wilson Middle School, title: I Can't Hear: Soundwave Cancellation by Soundproofing Materials in Rooms 

• Trinity Chapter of The Links, Incorporated | So SMAART Award

Archika Shukla, Bowman Middle School, title: MSVI: A low-cost smart stick for the visually impaired

• The Lemelson Foundation | Lemelson Early Inventor Prize

Aditi Srivastava, Robinson Middle School, title: Hay, You're On Fire: A Study to Develop an Efficient and Eco-Friendly Fire Retardant Material to Prevent Field Fires

• AWG Student Award for Geoscience Excellence

Senior-Division Category Awards

* indicates advancing to the International Science and Engineering Fair

Grand Prizes

• * Life Science: Alanna Polyak, Plano West Senior High, title: Investigating the Potentiality of an Alternative, Realistic Cure of Encephalomyelitis disseminata (Multiple Sclerosis) Using the Neoblasts From Dugesia tigrina (Planaria) on Lumbricus terrestris (Earthworms)
• * Physical Science Runner-Up: Meryl Zhang, Clark High School, title: The Easiest Hard Problem: A Heuristic Solution to the Two-Way Number Partitioning Problem Using Probabilistic Algorithms

Animal Sciences

• Vedha Almeti and Gaby Miller, Williams High School, second place, title: Killed in Cold Blood: Observing the Effects of Varying Temperatures on the Growth of order Diptera

Behavioral and Social Science

• Siri Peddinti,Plano East Senior High, first place, title: NeuroSense: A Neurodevelopmental Disorder Identification System Using Multi Modal Machine Learning

Biochemistry

• Pranav Gorty, Plano East Senior High, third place, title: Finding a Novel Prerequisite Inhibitor to Target RAD51 Function in Cancer Cells Through a Flexible Computational Model

Biomedical and Health Sciences

• Shashank Gangaram, Plano East Senior High, first place, title: Exploring the relationship between tau and cortical thinning in the development of Alzheimer’s Disease
• Jason Xu, Plano West Senior High, second place, title: Proliferous Metabolics
• Isha Agrawal, Jasper High School, third place, title: Mind Controlled Wheelchair

Biomedical Engineering

• Evelyn Ding, Jasper High School, first place, title: An Intelligent Computer Vision System for Gesture-Based Home Appliance Control and a Novel Non-intrusive Tremor Detection Method
• Varun Sridhar, Plano East Senior High, third place, title: A Non-Invasive Multimodally-Sensing Digitally-Embedded Smart Skin to Restore Natural Human Hand Tactile Sensory Feedback for Amputees

Cellular and Molecular Biology

• * Zehra Jaffery, Plano West Senior High, first place, title: Attenuation of Methylglyoxal Cytotoxicity with Fisetin Rescue in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

Chemistry

• Zaynab Abbas and Yizhen Zhang, Jasper High School, first place, title: A Study on the Effects of Pleurotus djamor Enzymes in the Breakdown of FOG Hydrocarbons for Water Remediation
• Kevin Sun, Plano West Senior High, second prize, title: Challenges from Point-of-Use Devices in Purifying Tap Water for Safe Drinking Water

Computational Biology and Bioinformatics

• Raghav Ramki, Plano East Senior High, second place, title: Decoding Cancer II: Biomarker Based Predictive Modeling of Population Level Signaling for Cancer Treatment Optimization 

Earth and Environmental Sciences

• Katherine Lee, Plano West Senior High, first place, title: Finding an Accessible, Environmentally Friendly Friendly Solution to Water Purification: Testing the Effectiveness of Aloidendron barberae and Bambusa dolichomerithalla as Natural Coagulants
• Swathi Parameshwar, Plano East Senior High, third place, title: Revitalizing Heat Damaged Soils: Rhizoremediation using Pseudomonas Bacteria and Ethanolamine to Improve Higher Soil Water Retentions

Embedded Systems

• Adil Husain, Plano West Senior High, first place, title: iSight: Artificial Intelligence Brings Vision to the Visually Impaired
• Kaitlyn Fan, Jasper High School, second place, title: A Novel Deep Learning Approach to Conduct Object Detection for Real Time Car Security Video Streaming
• Nakshatra Piduri, Jasper High School, third place, title: Utilizing postsynaptic potential data from pyramidal neurons to send text inputs through electroencephalography to call for aid during Dangerous Situations

Energy: Sustainable Materials and Design

• * Otto Beall, Plano East Senior High, firstplace, title: A Membrane-Free Organic Redox Flow Battery 
• Arya Gurumukhi, Plano East Senior High, second place, title: A Novel Fe Doped Metal-Oxide Electrode Material for High Energy Densities Within Intercalated Pseudo Supercapacitors
• Anushka Sridhar, Plano East Senior High, third place, title: GES - Green Energy Storage: An Approach to Storing Renewable Energy Thermally, Determining the Rate of Retention, and Converting Thermal to Electrical Energy 

Engineering Technology: Statics and Dynamics 

• Amrutha Veeramaneni, Plano East Senior High, first place, title: Finding Alternatives to Centrifuges by Testing String Lengths and Radii of Sonic Spinners
• Sanabhi Gauraw, Plano East Senior High, second place, title: Driving to a Better Future: Mimicking DAC Technology in an inexpensive and compact way to neutralize greenhouse gases
• Tiffany Chen and Ravi Pitta, Plano Senior High, third place, title: Baymin: The Affordable and Accessible Healthcare AI Robot

Environmental Engineering

• Madhalasa Iyer, Plano Senior High, first place, title: Maximal Triglyceride Production by Co-cultivation of Isochrysis galbana and Bacillus megaterium for Engineering Third-Generation Biofuels
• Shivi Shrivastava, Clark High School, third place, title: Tomato Plant Disease Identification Using Convolutional Neural Networks

Materials Science

• * Shivani Nathan, Jasper High School, first place, title: Pleurotus ostreatus as a Biological Method of Cellulose Extraction for Hydrogel Synthesis
• Shreya Halbe, Plano West Senior High, second place, title: Comprehensive Analysis of Microplastic Contamination of Water: The Effects of Zinc Oxide Treated Novel Bio Composites Comprising Abelmoschus esculentus and Aloe vera
• Amitha Mandava, Plano East Senior High, third place, title: High Work Capacity Actuation Using CNT and Nylon-based Artificial Muscles

Mathematics

• * Meryl Zhang, Clark High School, first place, title: The Easiest Hard Problem: A Heuristic Solution to the Two-Way Number Partitioning Problem Using Probabilistic Algorithms
• Albert Jiang, Plano West Senior High, second place, title: Finding a Lower Bound for k-Unbounded Hamiltonian Cycles

Microbiology

• * Shriya Bhat, Plano East Senior High, second place, title: Combating Pseudomonas Resistance: Cloning of ampC Gene Encoding for Beta-lactamase in Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Computational Mutagenesis of TEM-1 Beta-Lactamase to Identify Potential Allosteric Binding Sites

Physics and Astronomy

• Aditya Mishra, Plano East Senior High, first place, title: Finding B-mode Polarization On The Cosmic Microwave Background

Plant Sciences

• Prisha Bhat, Plano East Senior High, first place, title: Agro-Rhizoremediation: Rhizoremediation with Agro-transformed Oryza sativa to facilitate Arsenic degradation in-situ
• Annabella Gupta, Jasper High School, second place, title: The effects of varying solutions on the germination of Raphanus sativus

Robotics and Intelligent Machines

• Dhroov Bharatia, Vines High School, third place, title: VisiAide: A Multifaceted Self-Learning AI Assistant for the Visually Impaired Using A Novel Context-Based Approach
• Ryan Xu and Victor Xu, Jasper High School, third place, title: A Low-Cost, Pure Vision Alternative to Prosthetics

Systems Software

• * Andy Qin, Plano West Senior High, first place, title: Building a modern AI system to detect the presence of current and future DDoS botnet attacks
• Isabelle Hou, Clark High School, second place, title: A Computational Classification and Analysis of Silent Cancers using Deep Learning and Convolutional Neural Networks  
• Anika Doddamane, Plano East Senior High, third place, title: Utilizing Predictive Models to Detect Parkinson’s Disease Via Fractal Scaling

Translational Medical Science

• * Alanna Polyak, Plano West Senior High, first place, title: Investigating the Potentiality of an Alternative, Realistic Cure of Encephalomyelitis disseminata (Multiple Sclerosis) Using the Neoblasts From Dugesia tigrina (Planaria) on Lumbricus terrestris (Earthworms)
• Aaditya Dhar, Plano West Senior High, third place, title: End-To-End Diagnosis of Ophthalmological Diseases Via Visual Field Testing and Machine Learning

Senior-Division Special Awards

Prisha Bhat, Plano East Senior High, title: Agro-Rhizoremediation: Rhizoremediation with Agro-transformed Oryza sativa to facilitate Arsenic degradation in-situ

• Society for In Vitro Biology | outstanding achievement - in vitro biology

Arya Gurumukhi, Plano East Senior High, title: A Novel Fe Doped Metal-Oxide Electrode Material for High Energy Densities Within Intercalated Pseudo Supercapacitors

• U.S. Metric Association | best use of SI units

Adil Husain, Plano West Senior High, title: iSight: Artificial Intelligence Brings Vision to the Visually Impaired

• Directed Energy Professional Society | first place

Zehra Jaffery, Plano West Senior High, title: Attenuation of Methylglyoxal Cytotoxicity with Fisetin Rescue in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

• The 2023 Regeneron Biomedical Science Award

Katherine Lee, Plano West Senior High, title: Finding an Accessible, Environmentally Friendly Solution to Water Purification: Testing the Effectiveness of Aloidendron barberae and Bambusa dolichomerithalla as Natural Coagulants

• ISDWEAT / TAWWA | first place
• National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration | Taking the Pulse of the Planet
• U.S. Stockholm Junior Water Prize | award for excellence in a water-related project

Jayanth Mokkapati, Plano West Senior High, title: Low-Cost Lung Cancer Detection Using Machine Learning on Breath Samples

• Southwest Medical Foundation | Kathryn and Ashley H. Priddy Award

Swathi Parameshwar, Plano East Senior High, title: Revitalizing Heat Damaged Soils: Rhizoremediation using Pseudomonas Bacteria and Ethanolamine to Improve Higher Soil Water Retentions

• Terracon Environmental Excellence Award, first place

Siri Peddinti, Plano East Senior High, title: NeuroSense: A Neurodevelopmental Disorder Identification System Using Multi Modal Machine Learning

• American Psychological Association | achievement in research in psychological science

Alanna Polyak, Plano West Senior High, title: Investigating the Potentiality of an Alternative, Realistic Cure of Encephalomyelitis disseminata (Multiple Sclerosis) Using the Neoblasts From Dugesia tigrina (Planaria) on Lumbricus terrestris (Earthworms)

• Southwest Medical Foundation | Thomas and Libby Mathai Scholarship for Women in STEM

Varun Sridhar, Plano East Senior High, title: A Non-Invasive Multimodally-Sensing Digitally-Embedded Smart Skin to Restore Natural Human Hand Tactile Sensory Feedback for Amputees

• Texas Instruments | best electronics or computing project, Senior Division

Victor Xu and Ryan Xu, Jasper High School, title: A Low-Cost, Pure Vision Alternative to Prosthetics

• Directed Energy Professional Society | second place