Congratulations to the five students from the Dr. Nelson Ying Orange County Science Exposition who competed in the Regeneron International Science & Engineering Fair in Phoenix, Arizona, May 10-15, 2026.

From left: Aakash Manaswi, from Lake Highland Preparatory School; Aarit Dixit, Aditi Swain, and Mahie Patil from Orlando Science High School; and Marie Garcia, from Lake Highland Preparatory School. Marie was the Ying Expo Alternate in Biological Sciences, and since Mahie Patil won a Grand Award at the Florida State Science and Engineering Fair in May, which included a trip to ISEF, Marie got to take her place as the Ying Expo representative.

At the International Science and Engineering Fair in Phoenix, Mahie received a special award from The American Psychological Association and $500.00 in cash! Aarit won 4th place the category of Engineering, Technology, Statistics and Dynamics and $600.00 in cash! And Aakash Manaswi won first place in the category of Animal Sciences and $6000.00 in cash!!! But that was not all…Aakash also won the Peggy Scripps Award for Outstanding Communication, an award given to the student who best explains their projet to the general public, clearly communicating the science and its impact on society. Aakash received a $10,000.00 award to be used in his post-secondary studies.

We keep telling you people that science fair can be rewarding!