Los Alamos Students Win Regional Science Fair, Advance to State Competition

Twenty-two students from Los Alamos Public Schools will compete at the New Mexico State Science & Engineering Fair in Socorro on April 11 after earning top marks at the 2026 Northeastern New Mexico Science & Engineering Fair, LAPS announced on March 24.

The students will represent Los Alamos Public Schools at New Mexico Tech in Socorro on April 11 after competing at the New Mexico Northeastern Regional Science and Engineering Fair last month. "We are excited to see so many of our students qualify for the next level of competition," said LAPS Science Fair Director Davine Jones.

The road to Socorro began in early February at Piñon Elementary School. More than 122 projects were on display as students from elementary, middle and high school participated in the 2026 Los Alamos County Science Fair, with 52 students qualifying for the Northeastern New Mexico Regional Science Fair hosted by New Mexico Highlands University on February 28.

In the senior division, Los Alamos High School freshman Linus Plohr received the Life Science Best of Show for his project "Collective Intelligence: Driving Lessons from Ants," while LAHS junior Lilia Viteva's project "Flashed: Waste Reduction Through Household Plastic Glassification" was awarded Physical Science Best of Show. Both, along with fellow LAHS student Tate Plohr, earned first-place awards at the county level and advanced to the regional competition.

First-, second-, and third-place winners from the regional fair will compete in April at the New Mexico State Science & Engineering Fair at New Mexico Tech. Los Alamos High School freshman Julia Neale received the Regeneron Biomedical Science Award for her project. Los Alamos Middle School seventh graders Mason Garcia and Andrew Gilbertson were both recipients of the Oppenheimer Memorial Fund Award for their science fair projects.

The county fair's junior division produced a strong showing across multiple schools. In Chemistry, Graylan Lloyd of Barranca Mesa Elementary took first place, followed by Johanna Burrows and Alexa Melaschenko of Mountain Elementary in second, and Paul Work of Barranca Mesa in third, with honorable mentions going to Sebastian Johnson of Barranca Mesa and Noah Mendez of Chamisa Elementary. In Computer Science, Eisley Connell of Chamisa Elementary won first, with Emma Bittner and Viviana Daly, also of Chamisa, placing second. Brandon Keller of Los Alamos Middle School took first in Energy and Transportation. In Engineering: Electrical & Mechanical, Daniel Yampolsky of Los Alamos Middle School claimed first, Ernest Maupin of Mountain Elementary placed second, and Sydney Chen of Barranca Mesa took third. Brennan Apperson of Barranca Mesa won first in Engineering: Materials & Bioengineering.

Thirty-nine students received special awards provided by community sponsors including the American Association of University Women, Bradbury Science Museum, PEEC, Los Alamos Garden Club, Los Alamos Master Gardeners, Oppenheimer Memorial Committee, and the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers.

Students who qualify at the state level will next be eligible to compete at the Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair in Phoenix, Arizona from May 9 through 15 at the Phoenix Convention Center. Registration for the state fair closed March 31.