Two students from Bellevue, Washington, achieved significant recognition at the Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair in Phoenix, where they collectively earned $125,000 in prizes. This year’s fair featured over 1,700 participants from approximately 60 countries and awarded more than $7 million in total.
Senior Lakshmi Agrawal received the Regeneron Young Scientist Award along with a $75,000 prize for her innovative creation of biodegradable nanocellulose hydrosponges. These sponges are designed to filter out harmful chemicals, specifically 6PPD-quinone, from water, which has been linked to declines in coho salmon populations in the Puget Sound area. Her method proved to be 85% more energy-efficient and cost-effective by roughly 98% compared to traditional filtration systems.
Meanwhile, Anusha Arora, a sophomore at the same school, won the F. Thomson Leighton and Bonnie Berger Family Prize for STEM Excellence, earning $50,000 for her development of a music therapy platform called HARMONI. This AI-powered device offers personalized music therapy by generating tailored music in real time based on individual listener needs.
Agrawal plans to further her studies in chemistry and chemical engineering at MIT this fall.