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2026 West Virginia State Science and Engineering Fair Official Results
See which projects placed during the 2026 West Virginia Science and Engineering Fair.
Division I, Animal Science
| Award | Presentation Name | Students | County |
|---|---|---|---|
| HM | Music To Make You Crack | Jocelyn Peplowski Payton Peplowski Charlotte Peplowski | Greenbrier County |
| 3rd | Whitetail Deer: Choice of Food | Caroline Andrews | Morgan County |
| 2nd | Rate of Gain | Brooke Burns | Preston County |
| 1st | My Egg-cellent Business | Adeline McPherson | Roane County |
Division I, Behavioral and Social Sciences
| Award | Presentation Name | Students | County |
|---|---|---|---|
| HM | Is Yawning Really Contagious? | Grace DeBeni Mercer Materkoski | Ohio County |
| 3rd | The Nose Knows: A Battle of Taste vs. Smell | Jada Neumann | Greenbrier County |
| 2nd | Who Has Better Tempo, A Dancer or a Musician? | Ella Hugas | Berkeley County |
Division I, Chemistry
| Award | Presentation Name | Students | County |
|---|---|---|---|
| HM | Where Did My Shell Go? | Rosemary Britton Arielle Abboud | Wood County |
| 3rd | Melting Ice | Catalina Richards Harper Dick | Preston County |
| 2nd | In Which Container Will the Ice Cream Melt the Fastest? | Toleen Alkhawlani Sanaa Farran Maryam Branion | Kanawha County |
| 1st | The Acid Attack: How Soda Eats Away At Your Smile | Mace Dolan-White Maddix Dolan-White Lyndi Whited | Greenbrier County |
Division I, Earth and Environmental Sciences
| Award | Presentation Name | Students | County |
|---|---|---|---|
| HM | Growing Gummy Bears | Hudson Martin | Nicholas County |
| 3rd | Environmental Effects on Copper Weathering | Beckett Stotts | Wood County |
| 2nd | Which Water Filter Works Best | Amelia Luczko | Marion County |
| 1st | Surface Tension Superpowers | Teegan Racine | Ohio County |
Division I, Energy
| Award | Presentation Name | Students | County |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3rd | To Conduct or Not to Conduct | Samantha Tidwell | Berkeley County |
| 2nd | Kinetic to Electric: Turning Wind to Watts | Levi Brumfield | Raleigh County |
| 1st | Produce Energy: Making Batteries from Fruit | Leo Luckett | Greenbrier County |
Division I, Engineering
| Award | Presentation Name | Students | County |
|---|---|---|---|
| HM | How Does the Wear of a Brake Pad Effect How Fast a Car Stops | Katelynn Hensley | Clay County |
| 3rd | Flood Watch: Flash Flood Conditions Alert System | Miles McKay | Berkeley County |
| 2nd | Soaring Propellers | Kavya Babariya | Wood County |
| 1st | Adaptive Hand/Arm Device for Safe Biking and Kayaking | Liliana Wood Amelia Tennant | Marion County |
Division I, Material Science
| Award | Presentation Name | Students | County |
|---|---|---|---|
| HM | Battle of the Bubble Gum | Kate Magaha Kennedy Carroll | Jefferson County |
| 3rd | Static Magic | Rowan Bailey | Greenbrier County |
| 2nd | Which Line is A Keeper? | Henry Rohanna Jonathan Hunt Asher Patton | Monongalia County |
| 1st | Heated | Rebecca Daniels | Wyoming County |
Division I, Mathematics and Data
| Award | Presentation Name | Students | County |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3rd | Blowing Out the Competition | Avery Hawk | Grant County |
| 2nd | Can AI Beat the Odds? | Violet Midkiff | Cabell County |
| 1st | Great Cookie Dunk | Kendall Neeley Aubree Hunter | Mercer County |
Division I, Medical Sciences
| Award | Presentation Name | Students | County |
|---|---|---|---|
| HM | Generic vs Brand Name Medication: Which Works Faster? | Liv Lowdermilk | Marion County |
| 3rd | Dental Dilemma | Adalyn Bucks | Nicholas County |
| 2nd | Moisturizer: Face the Facts | Hadley Smith Madeline Browning | Mercer County |
| 1st | Where Does Your Toothbrush Sleep? | Gianna Bryant | Jackson County |
Division I, Physics and Astronomy
| Award | Presentation Name | Students | County |
|---|---|---|---|
| HM | What Materials Block Radio Frequencies? | Liezl Wimmer | Upshur County |
| 3rd | Crack vs. Pop | Cash Boggs | Raleigh County |
| 2nd | The Physics of Bottle Flipping | Zach Timberlake | Ohio County |
| 1st | The Science of a Soft Landing | Presley Cline | Greenbrier County |
Division I, Plant Science
| Award | Presentation Name | Students | County |
|---|---|---|---|
| HM | How to Rainbow Grow | Kourtney Prichard Gianna Trupia | Wyoming County |
| 3rd | Stay Clean Stay Green, Guac this Way! | Brynley Lavayen | Ohio County |
| 2nd | What Solution Keeps Cut Flowers Fresh the Longest | Amelia Mayer | Marion County |
| 1st | Phototropism: aMAZE of Light | Nathan Close | Morgan County |
Division I, Technology
| Award | Presentation Name | Students | County |
|---|---|---|---|
| HM | How Circuits Affect My Life | Talia Hurley | Greenbrier County |
| 3rd | Which "Battery" Powered My Robot the Best? | Jaidev Kavuri | Wood County |
| 2nd | S.A.L.L.Y. - The Pole Climbing Robot | Dominic Collins | Jefferson County |
| 1st | Smart Sensors | Trenton Riffe | Mercer County |
Division II, Animal Science
| Award | Presentation Name | Students | County |
|---|---|---|---|
| HM | Tortoise and Hare-Who Would Actually Win? | Duke Fleet Cael Young | Jefferson County |
| 3rd | Tails Waggin' Tints | Piper Bobo | Marion County |
| 2nd | Worming Out the Truth | Aven Pifer Adley Ritchie | Wood County |
| 1st | EggSEALANT: The Effect of Applied Eggshell Coatings on Preventing Egg Weight Loss During Storage | Ross Pownell | Pendleton County |
Division II, Behavioral and Social Sciences
| Award | Presentation Name | Students | County |
|---|---|---|---|
| HM | Music vs Media-What Do They Do to Cognitive Function? | Emily Shuman | Wood County |
| 3rd | Music vs Concentration | Abigail Samples | Clay County |
| 2nd | Project Eleven | Ben Bailey | Wyoming County |
| 1st | Human vs. AI | Vincenzo Altobello | Mineral County |
Division II, Chemistry
| Award | Presentation Name | Students | County |
|---|---|---|---|
| HM | Elephant Toothpaste | Gage Myers | Marshall County |
| 3rd | Now You See It, Now You Don't: The Science of Invisible Ink | Cole Shumate | Raleigh County |
| 2nd | How Cheesy is Your Cheese? | Finn Harris | Marion County |
| 1st | Salty Science | Olivia Ott | Mason County |
Division II, Earth and Environmental Sciences
| Award | Presentation Name | Students | County |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3rd | Risks to Evitts Run's Aquatic Life | Jace Moreno | Jefferson County |
| 2nd | Faulty Injections | Raiden Sayre | Jackson County |
| 1st | Mist Opportunities | Milyn Neumann | Greenbrier County |
Division II, Energy
| Award | Presentation Name | Students | County |
|---|---|---|---|
| HM | Which Wind Turbine Produces the Most Energy? | Byron Santonas | Marshall County |
| 3rd | Which Battery Brand Lasts the Longest? | Avery Sanders Estelle Roderick | Monongalia County |
| 2nd | Electrolyte Energy | Henry Anderson | Jackson County |
| 1st | Great Scott! "Bac"tricity | Zooey Brown | Mercer County |
Division II, Engineering
| Award | Presentation Name | Students | County |
|---|---|---|---|
| HM | Heating Up the Streets | Kennsie Grigsby | Marshall County |
| 3rd | Maximum Motion | Ryker Gladwell | Putnam County |
| 2nd | More Flo for Bro | John Danzey Harlan Morreale | Jefferson County |
| 1st | An Engineering Design: Investigation of Thermal Preservation in Insulation Through Material Selection and Thickness Optimization | Yashmit Panta | Raleigh County |
Division II, Material Science
| Award | Presentation Name | Students | County |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3rd | Fruit Vs. Fabric | Jenifer Taylor | Pocahontas County |
| 2nd | Paper Towel Absorbency | Korbin Henry | Wyoming County |
| 1st | Tumbler Wars: The Insulation Game | Raiden Brewer | Wood County |
Division II, Mathematics and Data
| Award | Presentation Name | Students | County |
|---|---|---|---|
| HM | The Speed of Different Sorting Algorithms Technology | Nathaniel Dodd | Kanawha County |
| 3rd | Hidden Gaussians Around Us | Alisha Khan Hadley Adkins | Greenbrier County |
| 2nd | What's Poppin | Ezekiel Martindale Ellianna Martindale | Mason County |
| 1st | How Angle Affects Penetration-Airsoft vs Foam Board | Olivia Rose | Wood County |
Division II, Medical Sciences
| Award | Presentation Name | Students | County |
|---|---|---|---|
| HM | Regenerative Medicine vs. Bionic Technology: Which Has More Potential to Restore Human Limbs? | Kianoosh Nawai | Berkeley County |
| 3rd | The Spreading Secret | Taylor Eakle | Marion County |
| 2nd | Font vs Reading | Jordyn Lemle Macie Dean | Putnam County |
| 1st | Shining Light on Sugar: Can Light Detect Blood Glucose? | Jayden Mathew | Wood County |
Division II, Physics and Astronomy
| Award | Presentation Name | Students | County |
|---|---|---|---|
| HM | Don't Be a Drag! Optimizing Weight for Max Flight | Sophia Riley | Wirt County |
| 3rd | Radio Reflections | Brayden Ray | Pocahontas County |
| 2nd | What Product is the Best for Deicing? | Curtis Weeks | Marshall County |
| 1st | Wheee! How Much Track to Loop the Loop? | Benjamin McCune | Upshur County |
Division II, Plant Science
| Award | Presentation Name | Students | County |
|---|---|---|---|
| HM | Can UV Light Make Strawberries Last Longer? | Brynn Rogers | Harrison County |
| 3rd | The Melody of Mint | Caroline Mount Jules Keller | Cabell County |
| 2nd | Bread Molding | Lyla Titus | Clay County |
| 1st | How Microplastic Affects Plants | Gabby Dantrassy | Marshall County |
Division II, Technology
| Award | Presentation Name | Students | County |
|---|---|---|---|
| HM | AC vs DC | Paxton Mullins Blake DeMoss | Nicholas County |
| 3rd | Ball or Nothing: Can AI Score? | Reagan Vance | Raleigh County |
| 2nd | Can AI be Eyed? | Tony Mohwish | Wood County |
| 1st | Face Or Fake | Brynlee Franklin | Berkeley County |
Division III, Animal Sciences
| Award | Presentation Name | Students | County |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3rd | Good Vibrations: Can Vibrations Stop Lanternfly Mating? | Abigail Keller | Berkeley County |
| 2nd | Do Whorl Patterns Impact Cattle Behavior Based on Breed? | Sophie Randolph | Putnam County |
Division III, Behavioral and Social Sciences
| Award | Presentation Name | Students | County |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3rd | Better Memory-Mindful Minutes | Stella Bailey | Mercer County |
| 2nd | Intergenerational Correlation of Bachelor's Degree Attainment | Aubrey Korngiver | Marshall County |
| 1st | Sleeping Students | Mani-Juliette Sakho | Berkeley County |
Division III, Biochemistry
| Award | Presentation Name | Students | County |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | Grade Matters: Matcha vs. Oxidation | Aiko Ng | Jackson County |
Division III, Biomedical and Health Sciences
| Award | Presentation Name | Students | County |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3rd | Genetic and Molecular Biology of Disease | Shrija Malkaram | Kanawha County |
| 2nd | Humidity's Effect on Heartrate | Eileen Parks | Preston County |
| 1st | How Native and Non-Native Languages Load onto the Physics Network | Whitney Heller | Berkeley County |
Division III, Biomedical Engineering
| Award | Presentation Name | Students | County |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | Sandura: A Wearable Sensor and Oscillatory Device to Reduce the Manifestation of Hand Tremors for Parkinson's Disease | Riley Ellis | Berkeley County |
Division III, Cellular and Molecular Biology
| Award | Presentation Name | Students | County |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2nd | Mitigating Obesity and Cardiovascular Disease Risk Through Omega-3 Enrichment in Spinach Leaves | Manvitha Sanjaya Charvitha Sanjaya | Kanawha County |
| 1st | A Developmental Perspective on Studying Clock Neurons in Drosophila Melanogaster | Ryan Chen Anna Kurov | Monongalia County |
Division III, Chemistry
| Award | Presentation Name | Students | County |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3rd | Orange Juice vs. Sports Drinks | Clayton Mack | Mercer County |
| 2nd | Soap Opera: DNA Edition | Isabella Carvajal Lauren Daniels | Berkeley County |
| 1st | Comparative Analysis of Vitamin C Degradation Across Cooking Methods | Mariah Titchenell | Preston County |
Division III, Computational Biology and Bioinformatics
| Award | Presentation Name | Students | County |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | The Hybridization of Generative Diffusion Models with Molecular Dynamics Simulations: a Novel Method to Accelerate Drug Discovery | Pavan Subramani | Monongalia County |
Division III, Earth and Environmental Sciences
| Award | Presentation Name | Students | County |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3rd | Which Material Biodegrades Best for the Environment? | Nicholas Butcher | Berkeley County |
| 2nd | Fading Lights: The Effect of Artificial Light on Firefly Activity | Eliora Fink-Miller | Mercer County |
| 1st | Dirty to Clean: Which Method Works Best? | Lexa Galloway | Preston County |
Division III, Energy: Sustainable Materials and Design
| Award | Presentation Name | Students | County |
|---|---|---|---|
| HM | All Juiced Up | Desmond Myers | McDowell County |
| 3rd | Breaking the Barrier | Micah Ertel | Grant County |
Division III, Engineering Technology: Statics and Dynamics
| Award | Presentation Name | Students | County |
|---|---|---|---|
| HM | Repel-Attract Magnetic Levitation: How Inverter Magnetic Systems Defy Earth's Gravity | Adrian Jimenez | Berkeley County |
| 3rd | Design and Optimization of Innovative Thermal Management Systems | Maya Panta | Raleigh County |
| 2nd | Hybrid Nozzle Design and Optimization for Adaptive Thrust Efficiency Across Varying Altitudes | Henry Davis Ian Osborne | Kanawha County |
| 1st | Shark-Skin Inspired Micro-Riblets: A Biomimetic Approach to Airfoil Drag Reduction | Jaxon Milam Joseph Nodurft | Ohio County |
Division III, Environmental Engineering
| Award | Presentation Name | Students | County |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3rd | What is the Best Natural Water Filter? | Katie Peach Lydia Allen | Berkeley County |
| 2nd | How pH Affects Aquatic Life in Restored and Contaminated Streams | Rylee Fauber | Putnam County |
| 1st | Design, Ruggedization, and Field Validation of a Low Cost Water Quality Sensor System | Thomas Farrell | Cabell County |
Division III, Materials Science
| Award | Presentation Name | Students | County |
|---|---|---|---|
| HM | Electric Extravaganza: The Electrolyte Test | Oliver Baldwin | Berkeley County |
| 2nd | 3D Print Crusher | Wyatt Lamb | Webster County |
Division III, Mathematics
| Award | Presentation Name | Students | County |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3rd | It's Just a Theory | Anna Long | Jackson County |
| 2nd | Lionel Messi: A Star Player's Impacts on MLS Games | Hope Wu | Kanawha County |
| 1st | Does a Rising Tide Lift All Boats? A Statistical Analysis of Economic Growth's Impact on Income Inequality | Angela Yao | Monongalia County |
Division III, Microbiology
| Award | Presentation Name | Students | County |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3rd | Pandemic Problems-Which Mask Works Best? | Carl Dearth | Wood County |
| 1st | Concentrations of Chlorine Bleach's Effect on E. coli | Brian Burton Jack Hopkins | Berkeley County |
Division III, Physics and Astronomy
| Award | Presentation Name | Students | County |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3rd | Sound and Shape | Aiden Sacks Eli Greenberg | Berkeley County |
| 2nd | Sound Lasers and Mirrors: How Sounds Affect The Shape of Vibrations | Micah Dodd | Ohio County |
| 1st | Automotive Suspension Generator | Alex Orrego | Monongalia County |
Division III, Plant Sciences
| Award | Presentation Name | Students | County |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3rd | How Light Color Affects Plant Growth in Wisconsin Fast Plants | Anna Gianato Alexis Dillon Michaela Scott | Wyoming County |
| 2nd | Getting to the Base-ics Which Lime Works Best? | Nathan Bernatowicz | Preston County |
| 1st | Modeling Soil Fertility in Appalachian Coalfields through Quantum Machine Learning | Sophie L. Allen | Fayette County |
Division III, Robotics and Intelligent Machines
| Award | Presentation Name | Students | County |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3rd | Arduino Controlled Sunshield for Lunar Agriculture | Levi Carney Wyatt Smith | Putnam County |
| 2nd | Can a Neuron Network Predict Mutation Types of a Variant Gene? | Joel Feukou | Berkeley County |
| 1st | AI Modeling of Group Decision-Making through Multi-Agent Collaboration | Ainsley Gray | Jefferson County |
Division III, Systems Software
| Award | Presentation Name | Students | County |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2nd | Veritas.jl: Applying Formal Verification to a Dynamic Programming Language | William Gibbs | Jefferson County |
Division III, Translational Medical Sciences
| Award | Presentation Name | Students | County |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2nd | Can AI Crack Cancer's Code? | Joselyn Smith | Morgan County |
| 1st | Investigating TRPV-1 Dependent Genetic Survival in Glioblastoma: MAPK Signaling and Noncoding RNA Biomarkers Under Cytotoxic Stress | Iqraa Zaman | Kanawha County |
Contact Us
For questions about the Science Fair, contact Academic Support Coordinator Rachel Eades.
