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Information How to Participate: Quick Overview Quick Overview of GSDSEF Participation Steps (and suggested timeline) Detailed information can be gotten by logging into your student account and clicking on to the appropriate pages on the left hand column. You can also see this video on the GSDSEF Student Account and SRC Process What Where Completion Date 1. Read GSDSEF/ISEF Rules and Ethics Statements GSDSEF, ISEF Rules and the Ethics Statement September 2. Decide on a Project What makes a good STEM Fair project September-October 3. Teacher makes an account. THEN, Student makes an account Teacher registration page Student Registration page September 4. Fill in SRC (Scientific Review Committee) information Tab 1- Project Setup Tab 2- Project Details September-October 5. Determine whether your project needs additional safety (ISEF) Forms Tab 3- Forms Helper September-October 6. Submit Scientific/Safety Review Committee (SRC) online form and any necessary ISEF forms/approvals Tab 4- SRC Safety Form and ISEF Forms Upload (if necessary) September-November 7. Student, Parent, Teacher fill in and sign Information and Consent Tab 5- Consent and Policies September-November 8. After SRC approval, start on your project. ALL projects must go through SRC Review AND BE APPROVED BEFORE STARTING. You will receive an email indicating SRC Safety Approval. September- December 9. After completing your project -- Quality Screening with Digital Presentation. Download the Digital Presentation Template; complete and upload. Tab 6- Digital Presentation Upload. You will receive an email indicating Quality Screening Approval. January 10. After Screening Approval - Copy paste information into the Abstract. Tab 7- Abstract January-February 11. Payment - Review all previous information. Credit cards or school Purchase Orders only. Tab 8- Payment January- February 12. zFairs account set up for you. Upload your Digital Presentation and Digital Notebook for Judge’s Preview zFairs- February

Information Workshops (OLD, DO NOT USE) SLB members are eager to share their enthusiasm, experience, and knowledge with you in a series of interactive step-by-step workshops designed to help you produce a successful STEM project. Workshop topics focus on how to participate in the GSDSEF as well as the entire science fair process and the scientific method/engineering principles from start to finish - from coming up with a project idea, to putting together your science notebook, to designing your poster board, and to finally preparing you for judging. Experienced SLB members are also available to work with you on an individual basis - to answer your specific questions based on your own project. For 2025-26, SLB will be hosting most workshops via Zoom. Workshop information will be sent to your teachers. Zoom links to each workshop will be sent to those who RSVP. Workshop Schedule 2025-26 All workshops are scheduled on Saturdays from 9:30-10:30 AM Sept. 6, 2025 - Workshop #1- Finding an Idea Sept. 20, 2025 Workshop #2- GSDSEF Student Account and SRC Process Oct. 11, 2025 Workshop #3- Using the Scientific Method/Engineering Design Process: Problem-->Results Dec. 6, 2025 - Workshop #4A- Data Analysis and Statistics- Basic Dec. 17, 2025 Workshop #4B- Data Analysis and Statistics- Advanced Jan. 10, 2026 Workshop #5- Screening- Digital Project Slidedeck and Notebook Feb. 14, 2026 - Workshop #6- Science Fair Display Backboard and Notebook March 7, 2026 - Workshop #7- In -person Science Fair Judging Practice; 2:30-5:30pm; Tierrasanta Library March 28, 2026 - Workshop #8- Post Fair Workshop Check out our GSDSEF YouTube page for more workshops!

Information Special Awards Sponsors Recent Special Award Sponsors Below is a sample of organizations that have generously supported our students. Please note this is not a definitive list. American Psychological Association American Society of Civil Engineers American Society of Mechanical Engineers, San Diego Section American Society of Non Destructive Testing (San Diego Section) Armed Forces Communications and Electronics Association Association for Women Geoscientists Association for Women in Science San Diego BD “Advancing the World of Health” Award Broadcom “Coding with Commitment” Award Building Industry Association Cares California Association of Professional Scientists California Environmental Health Association Southwest Chapter and County of San Diego DEHQ California School Nurse Organization - San Diego/Imperial (CSNO- SDI) Collins Aerospace’s Fred H. Rohr Science Award Department of Defense (DoD) STEM Leadership Prize DRS Daylight Solutions Award for Optical Physics and Engineering DRS Daylight Solutions Project Assistance Award for Optical Physics and Engineering General Atomics Sciences Education Foundation Lemelson Early Inventor Prize Marine Technology Society NASA EARTH System Science Award National Geographic Award National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration “Taking the Pulse of the Planet” Award Nature Needs SD Office of Naval Research (U.S. Navy/U.S. Marine Corps) Professional Engineers in California Government Award Regeneron Biomedical Science Award Ricoh USA, Inc. San Diego Astronomy Association San Diego Chapter, American Society of Materials International San Diego County Dental Foundation San Diego County Veterinary Medical Association San Diego County Water Authority San Diego Psychological Association San Diego Section, American Chemical Society Scripps Research Young Scientist Award Society for In Vitro Biology Society for Women Engineers - San Diego County Section Stockholm Junior Water Prize Taiwan Award The Society of American Military Engineers - San Diego Post Thermo Fisher Award Thermo Fisher Scientific Junior Innovators Challenge Torrey Pines Docent Society U.S. Air Force U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) U.S. Metric Association Yale Science and Engineering Association

Animal Sciences This category includes all aspects of animals and animal life, animal life cycles, and animal interactions with one another or with their environment. Examples of investigations included in this category would involve the study of the structure, physiology, development, and classification of animals, animal ecology, animal husbandry, entomology, ichthyology, ornithology, and herpetology, as well as the study of animals at the cellular and molecular level which would include cytology, histology, and cellular physiology. Subcategories: Animal Behavior Cellular Studies Development Ecology Genetics Nutrition and Growth Physiology Systematics and Evolution Other/Multiple Subcategories Animal Behavior : The study of animal activities which includes investigating animal interactions within and between species or an animal’s response to environmental factors. Examples are animal communication, learning, and intelligence, rhythmic functions, sensory preferences, pheromones, and environmental effects on behaviors, both naturally and experimentally induced. Cellular Studies: The study of animal cells involving the use of microscopy to study cell structure and studies investigating activity within cells such as enzyme pathways, cellular biochemistry, and synthesis pathways for DNA, RNA, and protein. Development: The study of an organism from the time of fertilization through birth or hatching and into later life. This includes cellular and molecular aspects of fertilization, development, regeneration, and environmental effects on development. Ecology: The study of interactions and behavioral relationships among animals, and animals and plants, with their environment and with one another. Genetics: The study of genes, genetic variation, and heredity in living organisms. These projects include studies of heredity, dealing with resemblances and differences of related organisms resulting from the interaction of their genes and the environment. Studies may include projects relating to gene expression, gene regulation, genomics, and model organisms. Nutrition and Growth: The study of natural, artificial, or maternal nutrients on animal growth, development, and reproduction including the use and effects of biological and chemical control agents to control reproduction and population numbers. Physiology: The study of one of the 11 animal systems. This includes structural and functional studies, system mechanics, and the effect of environmental factors or natural variations on the structure or function of a system. Similar studies conducted specifically at the cellular level should select the cellular studies subcategory. Systematics and Evolution: The study of animal classification and phylogenetic methods including the evolutionary relationships between species and populations. This includes morphological, biochemical, genetic, and modeled systems to describe the relationship of animals to one another. Other/Multiple: Studies in Animal Science that do not fit in the above subcategories or which may involve multiple subcategories. Next Project Category Previous Project Category

Board of Directors Dr. Earl Williams, BOD President, Naval Information Warfare Systems Command Mr. Sany Zakharia, BOD Treasurer, Qualcomm Ms. Vickie Driver, Zim Biosciences Dr. Donna Kritz-Silverstein, UCSD Mr. Sam Ferguson, Lockheed Martin another name Management Committee Steve Rodecker, Fair Executive Director Sany Zakharia, GSDSEF Treasurer/Fundraiser Officers *Board Members Emeritus* Phil Gay Wendy Gay Student Leadership Board Management Committee Member Arnav Dagar, SLB President Board of Directors Meeting Dates TBD Liaisons Mrs. Shirley Miranda, San Diego City Schools, Liaison to the California Science and Engineering Fair Mr. John Spiegel, San Diego County Office of Education Liaison The Management Committee is a group of volunteers who give their time and expertise to coordinate and produce the Greater San Diego Science & Engineering Fair.

Information Mentoring Program SLB Mentorship Program The GSDSEF SLB will be continuing its annual Mentorship Program designed to pair GSDSEF participants with experienced mentors to help you improve and succeed with your project. You will receive individualized attention with an experienced GSDSEF mentor who will not only assist you with the science/engineering in your project, but guide you through the GSDSEF participation process as well. Meetings will be approximately 30-45 minutes/week (or as needed) and conducted via Zoom. Mentors will guide you on how to: Navigate the online participation process Submit necessary ISEF forms for the Scientific Review Committee (SRC) Process Create an impactful methodology Gather reliable results Analyze complex data Organize information into presentable formats Prepare a cohesive presentation for Judges Prepare your digital and physical presentations and notebooks Extend the impact of your project And much, much more!! In order to best support students, GSDSEF SLB pairs mentees and mentors based on their project categories and interests. NOTE: We highly recommend students have a general understanding of what they want their project to be before signing up. Information on how to sign up for a mentor will be sent to your advisors/teachers in September and October. It will also be available here online.

Earth & Environmental Science a) Earth Sciences Studies of the environment and its effect on organisms/systems, including investigations of biological processes such as growth and life span, as well as studies of Earth systems and their evolution. Subcategories : Atmospheric Science Climate Science Geosciences Water Science Other/Multiple Atmospheric Science: The study of the Earth’s atmosphere, its processes, the effects other systems have on the atmosphere, and the effects of the atmosphere on these other systems as well as meteorological investigations. Further investigation in this field relates to atmospheric chemistry, atmospheric physics, atmospheric changes (both long and short-term) that define average climates and their change over time, and upper layers of the atmosphere, where dissociation and ionization are important. Climate Science: Studies of Earth’s climate, particularly evidential study of climate change over a period of time. This field studies long-term trends in average meteorological conditions and changes in these averaged conditions from season to season, year to year, decade to decade. Geosciences: Studies of Earth’s land processes, including mineralogy, plate tectonics, volcanism, and sedimentology. Water Science: Studies of Earth’s water systems, including water resources, movement, distribution, and water quality. This field includes the occurrence, movement, abundance, distribution, and quality of subsurface waters and related geologic aspects of surface waters. Furthermore, it projects may also address water from the moment of precipitation until it evaporates into the atmosphere or is discharged into the ocean; for example, river systems and the impacts of flooding. Other/Multiple: Studies in Earth Sciences that do not fit in the above subcategories or which may involve multiple subcategories. b) Environmental Sciences: Management and Engineering Studies that engineer or develop processes and infrastructure to solve environmental problems in the supply of water, the disposal of waste, or the control of pollution. Subcategories : Bioremediation Environmental Effects on Ecosystems Land Reclamation Pollution Control Recycling and Waste Management Water Resources Management Other/Multiple Bioremediation: The use of biological agents, such as bacteria or plants, to remove or neutralize contaminants. This includes phytoremediation, constructed wetlands for wastewater treatment, biodegradation, etc. Environmental Effects on Ecosystems: Studies of the impact of environmental changes (natural or as a result of human interaction) on ecosystems, including empirical pollution studies. Land Reclamation: Studies that apply engineering principles and design techniques to restore land from wetlands, seas, lakes, deserts or mines, through drainage or irrigation to a more productive use or its previous undisturbed state. This subcategory also includes studies involving the restoration of land that is damaged by natural phenomena, such as erosion, or impaired by industrial and urban processes. Pollution Control: Studies that use engineering principles and design to prevent or control air, water and solid waste pollution. Recycling and Waste Management: Studies involving the extraction and reuse of useful substances from discarded items, garbage, or waste. The process of managing, and disposing of, wastes and hazardous substances through methodologies such as landfills, sewage treatment, composting, waste reduction, etc. Water Resources Management: Studies that apply engineering principles and design to the planning, developing, distributing and managing the optimum use of water resources. Studies in this subcategory might include applied surface and groundwater hydrology, forecasting and control of quantity and quality of water or simulation and modeling of water resource systems. Other/Multiple: Studies in Environmental Sciences: Management and Engineering that do not fit in the above subcategories or which may involve multiple subcategories. Next Project Category Previous Project Category

Information SRC Review and Quality Screening What is SRC Review? During the Scientific Review Committee (SRC) review, qualified scientists, engineers, and teachers review each project to determine if safe scientific and engineering practices have been followed. This process occurs BEFORE you start your project and you must have approval from the SRC BEFORE you start your project. What is Quality Screening? During quality screening, qualified scientists, engineers, and teachers review each project to determine if correct scientific and engineering practices have been followed. Quality Screening approval is required AFTER the project is done. For SRC Review: 1.Students log into their account. 2. Students then click on DASHBOARD in upper left hand column, then click on CREATE PROJECT which is on the right side. 3. Students fill in all details about their project (title, materials, procedure, etc.) in TAB 1 and TAB 2. Teacher and student should review the procedure to check for any needed ISEF forms. Information can be found below and in the FORMS HELPER TAB 3 on student account. 4. Attach any ISEF forms that are needed in TAB 4. 5. DIGITAL Signature Procedure-- TAB 5 a) Student fills in and signs form digitally. b) Parent fills in and signs form digitally. c) Student sends the form to the teacher to be signed digitally. d) The teacher/advisor will receive an email notifying him/her that there are projects to review and sign. Once the teacher/advisor signs digitally, the project will be automatically sent for SRC review. The project will be reviewed by the GSDSEF SRC and the student will receive an email with approval or a request for forms/modifications before approval is given to start. ALL Students--Do not start with your project until you have received SRC approval. Depending on the project, you will get approved, be asked to make modifications, or be asked to provide further forms. If you have questions whether your proposed project is acceptable or to clarify any safety concerns, please contact Rose Armour at rose.armour@gsdsef.org . For Quality Screening: To properly submit projects for screening, students must Go to gsdsef.org and log in to their account. Go to the My Project link on the left side of the screen. Click on to the Tab 6 Digital Presentation Upload On the top of Tab 6 will be the Digital Presentation Template if you have not already downloaded it and used it. When completed and saved as a pdf file , upload your Digital Presentation in Tab 6. After uploading your Digital Presentation, click SUBMIT TO QUALITY SCREENING The project will then be screened. The student will receive an email as to the status of the project. Helpful Tools: 2026 Digital presentation template(2) .pptx Download PPTX • 95KB Digital Presentation Example .pdf Download PDF • 682KB What_screeners_are_looking_for_in_a_gsdsef_project_2 .pdf Download PDF • 70KB Results of Quality Screening: There are three possible outcomes from the screening process. Students and teachers will hear back directly about the results, which typically takes about a week. Approved/Recommended Based on the quality of the science, engineering, or coding, the project merits participation in the GSDSEF. Students will then go to TAB 7 Abstract and follow the directions for uploading the abstract. Not Approved / Not Recommended Based on the factors listed below, the project has been NOT Recommended to participate in the GSDSEF. Students will not be able to apply to this year's GSDSEF. project is demonstration of principle or a report project has too many inadequacies- Please see "What Screeners are Looking for" above. project violates GSDSEF rules Resubmit with Modifications The overall quality of the project is good, but in order to be acceptable, modifications required by the Screener must be carried out and sent back to be re-screened by the deadline. The original screener then decides whether the project will be Approved/Recommended or NOT Recommended. The student will receive an email listing the changes that need to be made. Project is resubmitted. If accepted, you will apply to the Greater San Diego Science and Engineering Fair: Once you are accepted and have uploaded your Abstract (TAB 7), you will then proceed to TAB 8 for the Review and Payment. Fee Payment must be submitted and received by the Fair deadline in order to complete the entire process. The student will receive an email when the whole process is completed and paid. 1) All individual payments must be done with a credit card. 2) School PO's-- If a school or school district is paying for the students to participate in the GSDSEF, the teacher or school official must contact the GSDSEF Fair Director to approve the PO and receive a code for students to complete the payment process. 3) If an individual is unable to pay via electronic methods, please contact Steve Rodecker at steve.rodecker@gsdsef.org within 3 days of receiving notification of being recommended to the GSDSEF for alternative payment method directions. NOTE: If you are a team project, each member submits his/her own separate application and fee payment. Please follow all deadlines! Students who submit their application and fees after the application deadline will not be entered in the Student Exhibitor Directory and Information. The GSDSEF Application fee is $ 50 PER STUDENT.

2023 - 69th Annual San Diego Science and Engineering Fair Awards totaling over 9 million dollars were announced at the 2023 Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF) on May 18 and 19 in Dallas, Texas. Competing against over 1600 of the world's best young scientists and engineers from 64 countries and nearly all 50 states and territories, 7 projects from the Greater San Diego Science and Engineering Fair (GSDSEF) garnered a total of 11 awards - 5 Grand Awards and 6 Special Awards. Next Previous

CALENDAR AND SCHEDULE Calendar and Schedule (NOT IN USE) JAN 2026 2 Student Registration Begins MAR 2026 12 Application Payments Required.

The 71st Greater San Diego Science And Engineering Fair The 71st Greater San Diego Science And Engineering Fair The 71st Greater San Diego Science And Engineering Fair Was Held in 2025 At The Balboa Park Activity Center, 2145 Park Blvd, On Wednesday, March 12.

The 75th International Science and Engineering Fair The 75th International Science and Engineering Fair The 75th International Science and Engineering Fair, the world's largest and most prestigious science competition, concluded with the Grand Awards ceremony in host city Columbus, Ohio. The 75th International Science and Engineering Fair, the world's largest and most prestigious science competition, concluded with the Grand Awards ceremony in host city Columbus, Ohio. Over 30 million high school students from 1,600 affiliated fairs in 70 countries competed to qualify, of which only 1,700 students made it, including 10 from the Greater San Diego Science and Engineering Fair, led by GSDSEF Board Member, Treasurer and Judging Captain, Sany Zakharia. These finalists competed for $9m in awards, with the GSDSEF delegation winning a total of 7 awards, including 2nd place, 3rd place and two 4th places, for a total of $46,800. Detailed results below: Behavioral and Social Sciences: Hannah Im & Nupur Bhalla, Grade 11, Del Norte High School, "Optimizing Academic Burnout Mitigation: Statistical Modeling of Emotional Intelligence as a Protective Factor in Adolescents" - ISEF Finalist Biomedical and Health Sciences: Saanvi Dogra, Grade 11, Del Norte High School, "Uncovering Molecular Mechanisms for Treatment of Congenital Heart Defects through High-Content Genetic Perturbation Screens" - Grand Award: Fourth Award of $600 Anirudh Kalyanaraman, Grade 12, Mt. Carmel High School, "A Novel Treatment Approach to Mitigate Adverse Cardiovascular Effects of Burn Pit Exposure” - ISEF Finalist Lilian Zeng, Grade 11, Del Norte High School, "Identifying Bacteriophages, Nature's Own Secret Weapon Against Antibiotic Resistant Bacteria, for Achromobacter Treatment” - ISEF Finalist Biomedical Engineering: Kayley Xu, Grade 10, The Bishop's School, “Wearable Stethoscope Array for Cardiopulmonary Sound Localization and Interference Suppression Using Beamforming”. - Grand Award: Second Award of $2,400 - Special Award: Society for Science Alumni Award of $5k Computational Biology and Bioinformatics: Tarik Oguz, Grade 11, Del Norte High School, "Small Changes, Big Impact: miRNAs in Lung Cancer Detection" - Grand Award: Fourth Award of $600 Physics and Astronomy: Joe Smith, Grade 12, Stanford Online High School, “Lost in the Stars: Chemical Tagging of the Magellanic Clouds and Accreted Populations” - Grand Award: Third Award of $1,200 Plant Sciences: Anna Luo, Grade 11, Canyon Crest Academy, "Allelopathic Effects of Cynara cardunculus on Native Coastal Sage Scrub Species" - Special Award: The New American University ISEF Scholarship of $32k Robotics and Intelligent Machines: Ryan Rezaei, Grade 11, Canyon Crest Academy, “Symmetry-Preserving Variational Autoencoder and Latent Space Rectified Flow Diffusion for Accelerated Materials Discovery With Geometric Graph Neural Networks and Integrated Property Network Multi-Layer Perceptron" - Special Award: Midjourney of $5K We are extremely proud of all our ISEF finalists, congratulations! Read our press release.