Nine students recognized at Regeneron Science & Engineering Fair; Tarun Jacob wins first place

Nine Niskayuna students recently competed in the Regeneron Greater Capital Region Science and Engineering Fair at RPI.

Students from Niskayuna High School, Iroquois Middle School and Van Antwerp Middle School presented their original research on topics ranging from aerodynamics to computational analysis of election districts. All nine students won recognition for their projects.

Tarun Jacob of Niskayuna High School won first place overall in the Senior Division. He received the $50,000 R.P.I. Scholarship award and will present his research at the International Science and Engineering Fair in May. 

More than 80 students from 18 school districts competed in what was the fair’s thirty-third year.

High School Winners

Tarun Jacob won the top prize at the event with his project exploring methods for creating an at-home monitoring device for intraocular pressure, a risk factor for glaucoma. In addition to winning first place in the Senior Division, Tarun was awarded the R.P.I. Scholarship of $50,000 and received an invitation to compete at the 2023 Regeneron ISEF in Dallas, TX on May 14 to 19.

Tarun Jacob standing with his project.

Arthur Leung won second honorable mention in the Senior Division and an invitation to present his project at the 2023 STANYS State Science Congress in Syracuse on June 11. Arthur used 3D printing and Arduino to create a prototype medication dispensing machine.

Arthur Leung standing with his project

Simran Utturkar won the NASA Earth System Science Award for a project exhibiting a clear and focused purpose on Earth System Science that is testable using the science process. Her project was titled “Ventilation-based variable conductance approach for residential cooling energy reduction.”

Simran Utturkar standing with her project

James Lian and Arin Khare won the Yale Science and Engineering Association Senior Division Award for outstanding students exhibiting in the areas of Computer Science, Engineering, Physics or Chemistry.  Their project was titled “The Rebalancing Act: A Geographical Community-Based Approach to Computational Gerrymandering Analysis.”

James Lian and Arin Khare standing with their project

Middle School Winners

Jason Lian and Andrew Zhang of Iroquois Middle School, and Brian Sun of Van Antwerp Middle School, won second place in the Junior Division with their project “Building a Wind Tunnel to Study Aerodynamic Performances of Model Cars.” The team was also recognized with the Cullen Blake and Deena Mousa Excellence in Science Award. The award is given to students who demonstrate both a love of science and the skill for doing science. The team was nominated to enter both the STANYS State Science Congress and the Thermo Fisher Scientific Junior Innovators Challenge.

Jason Lian and Andrew Zhang and Brian Sun with their project

Tejas Jacob of Van Antwerp Middle School won Second Honorable Mention in the Junior Division for the project “Understanding the physics of flight – building and testing models for aerodynamic lift.” Tejas was also the recipient of the Dudley Observatory Award, offered for a project in astronomy or space science.

Tejas Jacob receiving award.