52 Students Advance to Regional Fair From Los Alamos County Science Fair

More than 122 projects were displayed at Piñon Elementary and 52 students from Los Alamos County qualified for the Northeastern New Mexico Regional Science Fair, LAPS said. The county event brought together elementary, middle and high school students and will send its qualifiers to New Mexico Highlands University on Feb. 28, 2026.

Los Alamos High School produced several of the top high-school winners. Los Alamos High School freshman Linus Plohr received the Life Science Best of Show in the senior division for his project, "Collective Intelligence: Driving Lessons from Ants." Los Alamos High School junior Lilia Viteva won Physical Science Best of Show for "Flashed: Waste Reduction Through Household Plastic Glassification." Tate Plohr was also listed among LAHS students who won first-place awards and are headed to the regional fair; the LAPS release did not include a project title for Tate Plohr.

Junior-division best-of-show winners included Sequoya Ke from Los Alamos Middle School for Life Science and Nejan Liyange from Mountain Elementary for Physical Science. Elementary division best-of-show honors recognized Mrs. Hartman’s 3rd grade class at Barranca Mesa Elementary for Class Project, Fan Guo and Ifraz Mokim of Mountain Elementary for Earth Science, Lydia Marshall of Mountain Elementary for Life Science, and Gracie Nichols of Piñon Elementary for Physical Science.

The county release noted judges were on site to evaluate projects, and photographs accompanying the announcement showed judge-student interactions and award presentations. The fair functioned as both a public display of student research and a qualifying round for the regional competition.

For Los Alamos County residents, the fair highlights the scale of local STEM engagement across grade levels and the depth of project work coming out of neighborhood schools. Los Alamos High School, Los Alamos Middle School, Mountain Elementary, Piñon Elementary and Barranca Mesa Elementary were all represented among top winners, underscoring a district-wide pipeline from elementary class projects to high-school research.

Next steps for the community are straightforward: the 52 qualifiers will compete at the Northeastern New Mexico Regional Science Fair on Feb. 28, 2026, at New Mexico Highlands University. Local follow-up reporting can track which Los Alamos projects earn regional awards and whether any advance further. Community members interested in supporting student researchers can watch for results from the regional fair and for opportunities to attend or volunteer at future science events.