Los Alamos Public Schools Students Compete At 2026 New Mexico State Science & Engineering Fair

Students from Barranca Mesa Elementary, Mountain Elementary, Los Alamos Middle School, and Los Alamos High School at the 2026 New Mexico State Science & Engineering Fair at New Mexico Tech. Photo CourtesyLAPS

LAHS junior Tate Plohr and freshman Linus Plohr qualified to attend the 2026 Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair in May in Phoenix, Ariz. Photo Courtesy LAPS

Los Alamos Middle School student Branden Keller was awarded the CO2 & Greenhouse Gas Scholarship in the amount of $2,000 at the 2026 New Mexico State Science & Engineering Fair. Photo Courtesy/LAPS

LAPS NEWS RELEASE

Twenty students from Barranca Mesa Elementary, Mountain Elementary, Los Alamos Middle School (LAMS) and Los Alamos High School (LAHS) competed, with several garnering awards at the 2026 New Mexico State Science and Engineering Fair held at New Mexico Tech in Socorro.

LAHS junior Tate Plohr qualified to attend the Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF) next month in Phoenix, Ariz. He was awarded the 3rd-place Grand Award. Freshman Linus Plohr qualified as an alternate and will also be attending the Regeneron ISEF.

Students who participated in the state competition include, from Barranca Mesa Elementary, Sydney Chen, Mary Beth Kelsey, Lily Neale, Aurora Roberts Voss and Henry Rodarte; and Glyn Lo and Ernest Maupin, Mountain Elementary.

Students from LAMS who competed include Evelyn Fobes, Mason Garcia, Andrew Gilbertson, James Junghans, Sequoya Ke, Brandon Keller, Nejan Liyanage and Daniel Yampolsky.

LAHS students Julia Neale, Linus Plohr, Tate Plohr, Lilia Veteva, Helena Welch and Kalliope Welch competed at the senior level.

2026 Award winners:

Category Awards – Junior Division

• Animal Science, Cellular & Molecular
• Biomedical & Health Science
  • Honorable Mention: Sequoya Ke
• Embedded Systems, Math, Robotics, Software & Technology
  • 2nd place: Nejan Liyanage
• Physics & Astronomy
  • 1st place: Sydney Chen
  • 2nd place: Mason Garcia
  • Honorable Mention: Marybeth Kelsey
• Plant Science

Category Awards – Senior Division

• Behavioral & Social Science:
  • Honorable Mention: Linus Plohr
• Earth & Environmental
  • Honorable Mention: Lilia Viteva
• Embedded Systems, Math, Robotics, & System Software
  • 3rd Place: Helena Welch and Kalliope Welch
• Physics & Astronomy

Grand Awards

• ISEF finalist 3rd place: Tate Plohr
• Brandon Keller received the CO2 & Greenhouse Gas Scholarship in the amount of $2,000. James Jungans and Marybeth Kelsey garnered Thermo Fisher Awards.

Other special award winners include:

• CO2 & Greenhouse Reduction Awards (Junior Division)
  • Daniel Yampolsky, 2nd place, Earth & Environmental Sciences
  • Sequoya Ke, 1st place, Biomedical & Health Science
  • Brandon Keller, 1st place, Energy & Materials Science
  • Andrew Gilbertson, 1st place, Physics & Astronomy
• CO2 & Greenhouse Gas Reduction Award (Senior Division)
  • Lilia Viteva, 1st place, Earth & Environmental Sciences
• Office of Naval Research Award
• David Shortess Award
• New Mexico AVS Award
• Citadel Award
• Naval Research Award
• NM Network for Women in Science & Engineering Award
• Yale Science & Engineering Award
• Rose Baca Rivet Award

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