Welcome to the 70th annual 2024 Greater San Diego Science and Engineering Fair!
The GSDSEF is the bi-county STEM research fair for San Diego and Imperial Counties. We welcome all students in grades 6-12 who wish to challenge themselves in STEM research.
Become a part of the 70th GSDSEF in 2024 and its legacy of excellence in student STEM research, not only locally, but in California, the nation, and the world!
Teachers and students, want to get involved? Click on the Contact Us Online link at the bottom of this page!
To view the 2023 GSDSEF Results, go to: 2023 GSDSEF Results
To view the 2023 GSDSEF project summaries and results/awards in zFairs, go to: zFairs Showcase
To view the 2023 GSDSEF Awards Ceremony Videos, go to: Awards Ceremony Videos
GSDSEF Students in the News!
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Congratulations to 2021 GSDSEF Participant Ellen Xu for her 3rd place win at the 2023 Regeneron Science Talent Search!! A phenomenal feat!! The entire GSDSEF family is proud of you!!
Text-- Third Place and $150,000 went to Ellen Xu (right), 17, of San Diego, Calif., for developing an algorithm that uses a smartphone photo of a patient to help diagnose Kawasaki disease, the leading cause of acquired heart disease in children between the ages of 1 and 5 years old. |
2023 Results from the 2023 Regeneron International 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.
For the first time since 2019, the Regeneron ISEF was fully in person and ISEF Finalists spent a week exchanging scientific ideas, participating in symposia, panels, and category networking sessions, attending social activities, as well as presenting their projects to Judges. The Regeneron ISEF is the largest and most prestigious Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) Competition in the the world for high school students, where only a small percentage of projects from regional fairs qualify as Finalists and only 25% win awards. The outstanding showing by GSDSEF students at ISEF this year continues a history of success going back 69 years.
2023 Regeneron ISEF GRAND AWARDS Results:
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COMPUTATIONAL BIOLOGY AND BIOINFORMATICS Second Award of $2,000 CBIO029 — Improved Generalizability and Performance on Small Datasets Using Hyper-Connected Neural Architectures, C. elegans-Inspired Networks, and Evolutionary Modeling
"Agastya created a new type of neural network based on biologically-inspired models that outperforms state-of-the-art architectures on small datasets." |
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ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING Second Award of $2,000 ENEV086 — Utilizing 3D-Printed Engineered Living Materials To Break Down Environmental Pollutants
"Sanjana worked on a novel engineered living material created from cyanobacteria cells entrapped in an algae-based polymer capable of breaking down industrial pollutants."
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MICROBIOLOGY Third Award of $1,000 MCRO048 — A Self-Disinfecting Nanomaterial for Future Space Travel
"Kara created a nanomaterial that can disinfect space stations without chemicals, and analyzed the antibacterial effects of the material." |
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PLANT SCIENCES Third Award of $1,000 PLNT033 — Reducing Lead Contamination Through Hydroponically-Grown Mycorrhizal Plants
"Kate tested the lead uptake of hydroponics plants colonized with mycorrhizal fungi, which showed potential as an affordable and sustainable lead purification method." |
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ROBOTICS AND INTELLIGENT MACHINES Fourth Award of $500 ROBO039T — A Differentially-Geared, Omnidirectional Robotics Platform With Autonomous Jerk-Limited Navigation
"Logan and Nicholas created an omnidirectional wheeled robotics platform with smooth autonomous navigation for research and industrial applications." |
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COMPUTATIONAL BIOLOGY AND BIOINFORMATICS CBIO030 – Investigating the Underlying Molecular Patterns in Aggressive Brain Cancer Tumor ETMR to Develop a Robust Diagnostic Prediction Model
"Saanvi developed a robust diagnostic ML model to differentiate ETMR from other similar brain tumors and identified amplified genes in C19MC as potential therapeutic targets." |
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COMPUTATIONAL BIOLOGY AND BIOINFORMATICS CBIO067 – Lipid Bilayer Bending Due to Membrane-Protein Interactions: A Computational Study
"Nandana's project improved an existing model to further understand how proteins can affect the shape of cell membranes." (Qualified for ISEF through the California Science and Engineering Fair) |
2023 Regeneron ISEF SPECIAL AWARDS:
Air Force Research Laboratory on behalf of the United States Air Force
The Air Force Research Laboratory is a global technical enterprise, boasting some of the best and brightest leaders in the world. We are Revolutionary, Relevant, and Responsive to the Warfighter. We defend America by unleashing the unconquerable power of scientific and technical innovation. Our mission is leading the discovery, development, and integration of affordable warfighting technologies for our air, space, and cyberspace force.
First Award of $750 in each Regeneron ISEF Category
- CBIO029 — Improved Generalizability and Performance on Small Datasets Using Hyper-Connected Neural Architectures, C. elegans-Inspired Networks, and Evolutionary Modeling
Agastya Sridharan, Scripps Ranch High School, Grade 11
- MCRO048 — A Self-Disinfecting Nanomaterial for Future Space Travel
Kara Fan, Westview High School, Grade 12
Arizona State University
Arizona State University is pleased to offer a scholarship combining a monetary award and an environment focusing on knowledge, learning and research. The New American University ISEF Scholarship is renewable for four years. Individuals and teams will be considered for these awards.
Arizona State University ISEF Scholarship (valued at up to $52,000 each)
- ENEV086 — Utilizing 3D-Printed Engineered Living Materials To Break Down Environmental Pollutants
Sanjana Kumar, Francis Parker School, Grade 11
Central Intelligence Agency
The CIA is a U.S. government agency that provides objective intelligence on foreign countries and global issues to the president, the National Security Council, and other policymakers to help them make national security decisions. Our Agency is made up of multidisciplinary teams that integrate the full range of our analytic, operational, support, technical and digital capabilities. The CIA is dedicated to investing in and building the next generation of a diverse and technically skilled workforce to meet the needs of the nation.
First Award: $1000 award
- ROBO039T — A Differentially-Geared, Omnidirectional Robotics Platform With Autonomous Jerk-Limited Navigation
Logan Mars Brown, High Technical High North County, Grade 10
Nicholas Usher, High Technical High North County, Grade 11
Fondazione Bruno Kessler
The Bruno Kessler Foundation (FBK) is a leading research center in Trento, Italy. WebValley is the FBK Summer School program for interdisciplinary scientific research. A team of enthusiastic and motivated high school students and FBK researchers accepts a project challenge, proposed by a visiting scientist. FBK’s Board of Directors will award several Intel ISEF finalists full fellowships to be part of the WebValley team in June. The FBK will provide full board accommodation, full tuition to courses, lab activities, bus transfer from and to Trento.
Award: A Fellowship to participate in summer school “Web Valley” in Trento, Italy:
- ENEV086 — Utilizing 3D-Printed Engineered Living Materials To Break Down Environmental Pollutants
Sanjana Kumar, Francis Parker School, Grade 11
National Security Agency Research Directorate
The NSA Research Directorate is one of the most established research organizations in the U.S. Intelligence Community. As a world leader in science and technology, Research engages with leading industries, universities, and national laboratories to both advance core competencies and to leverage work in overlapping disciplines. The ISEF Special Awards recognize exceptional research that demonstrates world-class skills in mathematics, computer science, cybersecurity, engineering, physics, and neuroscience while promoting research that can assure and protect cyberspace.
Second Place Award “Principles of Security and Privacy”
- CBIO029 — Improved Generalizability and Performance on Small Datasets Using Hyper-Connected Neural Architectures, C. elegans-Inspired Networks, and Evolutionary Modelin
Agastya Sridharan, Scripps Ranch High School, Grade 11
The Greater San Diego Science and Engineering Fair proudly recognizes the numerous generous sponsors who make the Fair possible each year!