Los Alamos High School junior Alyssa Sun (left) and sophomore Tate Plohr (right) received Grand Awards along with Aarush Tutiki, Albuquerque Academy, Meher Garg, Homeschool, and Helena Welch, Homeschool (not pictured). They all qualified for the 2025 Regeneron ISEF to be held in Columbus, Ohio in May. Photo Courtesy LAPS
Junior division students from Los Alamos include (left to right) Sequoia Ke, James Junghans, Andrew Gilbertson, Daniel Yampolsky, Samuel Cawkwell, Zachary White, Liam Colgan and Isabella Martinez. Courtesy photo
Senior division participants Alyssa Sun, Lilia Veeva and Tate Plohr pose on the campus of New Mexico Tech while attending the New Mexico State Science Fair. Courtesy photo
LAPS NEWS RELEASE
Two students from Los Alamos High School qualified for the 2025 Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF) after earning top honors at the New Mexico State Science Fair.
Sophomore Tate Plohr received the first place Grand Award and junior Alyssa Sun garnered the
fifth place Grand Award. Homeschooler Helena Welch received the fourth place Grand Award and also qualified for ISEF. She was awarded first place in the NMJAS Paper Competition and also received the David Shortess Award.
Tate was also awarded the Richard N. Overdorf Grand Prize. He received $750 and a plaque. He also earned 2nd place in the NMJAS Paper Competition, and was awarded the Teresa Johnson Award and the 3rd place American Statistical Association Best use of Statistics Award. Overall, 13 students representing Los Alamos Public Schools received awards at this year’s state competition.
Also receiving special awards were Brandon Keller, Los Alamos Middle School, 2nd place, ASM
International (Los Alamos Chapter); Sequoia Ke, Los Alamos Middle School, New Mexico Network for Women in Science & Engineering; Evelyn Fobes, Mountain Elementary, Central New Mexico American Chemical Society Special Award; Liam Colgan, Barranca Mesa Elementary School, NMSR for Outstanding Project Demonstrating Critical Thinking; and Kalliope Welch, Homeschool, 3rd place, American Vacuum Society.
Results from the State Science Fair:
Junior Division
Biomedical & Health Sciences
Honorable Mention: Brandon Keller, Los Alamos Middle School
Chemistry & Biochemistry
Honorable Mention: James Junghans, Barranca Mesa Elementary School
Honorable Mention: Evelyn Fobes, Mountain Elementary School
Honorable Mention: Samuel Cawkwell, Barranca Mesa Elementary School
Environmental Engineering, Energy & Material Science
1st place: Mason Garcia, Mountain Elementary School
Engineering Technology: Statics & Dynamics
Honorable Mention: Andrew Gilbertson, Barranca Mesa Elementary School
Math, Robotics, Software, & Technology
3rd place: Liam Colgan, Barranca Mesa Elementary School
Honorable Mention: Sequoia Ke, Los Alamos Middle School
Physics & Astronomy
2nd place: Kalliope Welch, Homeschool
Plant and Microbiology
Honorable Mention: Daniel Yampolsky and Zachary White, Barranca Mesa Elementary School
Senior Division
Biochemistry, Computational Biology & Biomedical Engineering
1st place: Alyssa Sun, Los Alamos High School
Environmental Engineering, Energy & Materials Science
Honorable Mention: Lilia Viteva, Los Alamos High School
Math, Robotics, Software and Technology
1st place: Helena Welch, Homeschool
Physics, Astronomy and Technology Art
1st place: Tate Plohr, Los Alamos High School
The Regeneron ISEF is the world’s largest international STEM research competition for high school students and will be celebrating its 75th anniversary. This year’s competition will be
held in Columbus, Ohio May 10 through May 16.
