Results from San Joaquin County STEAM Fair and Expo

The San Joaquin County Office of Education (SJCOE) announced the winners of the 67th annual San Joaquin County STEAM Fair at the Feb. 8, 2026, awards ceremonies that followed student interviews. Judges selected winners after reviewing the individual, group, and whole-class projects submitted. In all, approximately 500 students from 33 schools participated in the competition
 
All competitors had an opportunity to present their projects to volunteer judges. Over 50 STEM professionals, teachers, college students, high-school students, and other volunteers from the community helped judge the projects and conduct interviews. 
  
Part of the SJCOE STEM, Workforce Development, and Innovation department, SJCOE STEM Programs seeks to promote science and engineering exploration and understanding for students. Each year, the SJCOE awards thousands of dollars to students and whole classes who exhibit and articulate superior levels of understanding in the areas of science, engineering, math, and computer science. Cash prizes were awarded to top contenders from SJCOE Educational Foundation and Synopsys Outreach Foundation.

Eight students (indicated by an asterisk (*) and bolded text below) from the STEAM Fair will represent San Joaquin County in the California Science and Engineering Fair in April 2026.

Photos from STEAM Fair and Expo on Facebook: @thesjcoe.

 

Kindergarten through first grade:
  

First Place, Science:
Peter Hansen Elementary (Lammersville Unified)
“Will Light Make it Right?”
Inba Gorky Ranichandra and Athindran Senthil Murugan

Second Place, Science:
EPIC Academy (Banta Unified School District)
“Amazing Infinity Mirror Lights that Never End”
Ojas Anand and Ganashyam Gadagotti

Third Place, Science:
Corral Hollow Elementary (Jefferson Elementary)
“Turning Electricity to Magnet Power”
Ajna Mohan

First Place, Engineering:
Bethany Elementary (Lammersville Unified)
“What sticks to a Magnet?”
Aarav Aghi and Veer Maheshwari
Second Place, Engineering
River Islands Technology Academy (Banta Unified)
“The Smart City”
Shreyas Jonnalagadda and Timothy Lara

Third Place, Engineering:
River Islands Technology Academy (Banta Unified)
“Spin, Spin, Spin, How Fast is the Wind
Akshika Satheeshkumar

First Place, Showcase:
Corral Hollow Elementary (Jefferson Elementary)
“Water Cycle”
Alisha Dewangan

Second Place, Showcase: 
EPIC Academy (Banta Unified)
“Balloon Pop”
Marliza Pablo

Third Place, Showcase:
Evelyn Costa Elementary (Lammersville Unified)
“The Amazing Water Cycle”
Sahasrika Bollenkula

Second through third grade:

First Place, Engineering (Whole Class): 
Fillmore Elementary (Stockton Unified)
“Earthquake-Resistant Buildings” 
Joeminel Docuyanan’s class

First Place, Science (Whole Class): 
Lammersville Elementary (Lammersville Unified)
“Pixel Project” 
Lisa Scaffidi’s class

Second Place, Science (Whole Class):
 Bethany Elementary (Lammersville Unified)
“Oil Spill Cleanup Challenge” 
Tammy Irick’s class

First Place, Science: 
STEAM Academy (Banta Unified)
“Read Mate” 
Tarun Viggnesh

Second Place, Science: 
EPIC Academy (Banta Unified)
“Magical Wave Blocker” 
Livi Chouhan and Aadya Lanka 

Third Place, Science: 
STEAM Academy (Banta Unified)
“Smart Home Automation using Microbit” 
Kritarth Vikram 

First Place, Engineering: 
River Islands Technology Academy (Banta Unified)
“Eyes for the Blind” 
Reyan Reddy Indurthi

Second Place, Engineering:
 River Islands Technology Academy (Banta Unified)
“Which Liquids Help Plants Grow the Best” 
Saanvi Rajanala 

Third Place, Engineering: 
Bethany Elementary (Lammersville Unified)
“Magnetic Pendulum” 
Shourya Yerrawar

First Place, Math/Computer Science
EPIC Academy (Banta Unified)
“Kids vs AI” 
Nirvaan Vedagiri and Hetvik Kashamsetty

First Place, Showcase: 
Sebastian Questa Elementary (Lammersville Unified)
“My Dog’s Lumpy Bumpy: All About Lipomas” 
Navya Aravinth 

Second Place, Showcase: 
Bethany Elementary (Lammersville Unified)
“Robo Drive Pet Bot” 
Advik Nivarthi 

Third Place, Showcase: 
Peter Hansen Elementary (Lammersville Unified)
“Solar Eclipse and Lunar Eclipse” 
Avan Khanal

Fourth through fifth grade:
 

First Place, Science: 
Corral Hollow Elementary (Jefferson Elementary)
“Spot to Shot: Get Your Penalties Flying Into the Net” 
Arjun Pandey 

Second Place, Science:
EPIC Academy (Banta Elementary)
“Investigating Microplastics in Local Water Sources” 
Ashwika Raja, Sanvika Azhakesan, and Harshiya Saravanan 

Third Place, Science: 
Cordes Elementary (Lammersville Elementary)
“The Mini Folding Machine”
 Jui Shirke 

First Place, Engineering: 
River Islands Technology Academy (Banta Unified)
“The Fruit Filter” 
Srinidhi Vemuri 

Second Place, Engineering: 
Corral Hollow Elementary (Jefferson Elementary)
“Do Fruits and Vegetables Generate Electricity?” 
Deevansh Atmakuri 

Third Place, Engineering: 
Peter Hansen Elementary (Lammersville Unified)
“Candle Extinguisher” 
Piya Deshpande 

First Place, Math/Computer Science: 
Corral Hollow Elementary School (Jefferson Elementary)
“The Hexagon Advantage: Nature's Most Efficient Shape” 
Aashvi Praveen Bhimaneni 

Second Place, Math/Computer Science: 
Wicklund Elementary (Lammersville Unified)
“AI Healthy Lunch Analyzer” 
Aarna Arvind and Joann John 

First Place (Tie), Showcase: 
Sebastian Questa Elementary (Lammersville Unified)
“Hydra, the Aqua Bot” 
Sharngini Sharan 

First Place (Tie), Showcase: 
Evelyn Costa Elementary (Lammersville Unified)
“Torque Tech” 
Zaeem Safi 

Second Place, Showcase: 
Park View Elementary (Ripon Unified)
“Mobile Prepared Slide Projector” 
Dominick Portanova and Arjun Parmar 

Third Place, Showcase: 
TEAM Charter 
“Leonardo De Vinci's Tank” 
Jayden Castillo 

Sixth through eighth grade:

 

First Place, Science: 
Cordes Elementary (Lammersville Unified)
 “Monitoring a Gas Stove”
*Anvi Giraddi 

Second Place, Science: 
Veritas Elementary (Manteca Unified)
“The Future of Fire Engines”
* Shresth Gupta and Spandan Nikam 

Third Place, Science: 
Sebastian Questa Elementary (Lammersville Unified)
“Transform CO2 Pollution to Products: A Pathway to Climate Mitigation, Protect Ecosystems” 
Tanvi Yenigalla 

First Place, Engineering: 
Peter Hansen Elementary (Lammersville Unified)
“Lifesaver Helmet” 
* Sritan Mylavarapu

Second Place, Engineering: 
EPIC Academy (Banta Unified)
“IntelliAir” 
Navya Nayak 

Third Place, Engineering: 
Corral Hollow Elementary (Jeffeson Elementary)
 “I-Eye D.A.P.S: Detection, Alerting and Prevention System” 
Vedansh Sharma and Aadyashri Banerjee 

First Place, Math/Computer Science: 
Evelyn Costa Elementary (Lammersville Unified)
“Simulating Different Viruses Through Computer Coded Simulations” 
*Atharv Arsid 

Second Place, Math/Computer Science:
 Evelyn Costa Elementary (Lammersville Unified)
“S.A.R.A - Smart Autonomous Robotic Assistant” 
Amishi Dwivedi 

Third Place, Math/Computer Science:
 Evelyn Costa Elementary (Lammersville Unified)
“AquaSense: A Continuous Water Quality Monitoring System with Raspberry Pi” 
Pramiti Keloth 

First Place (Tie), Showcase: 
Sebastian Questa Elementary (Lammersville Unified)
“Wireless Charging Pacemaker - Pacing the Future of Cardiology” 
Sarah Gupta 

First Place (Tie), Showcase: 
Cleveland Elementary (Stockton Unified)
“Charlie Brown and Crew's Amazing Adventure” 
Charlie Carson and Mia Arellano 

First Place (Tie), Showcase: 
Corral Hollow Elementary (Jefferson Elementary)
“Built to Last: Countering Earthquakes” 
Saketh Nadig and Aarav Mishra 

Second Place, Showcase: 
Evelyn Costa Elementary (Lammersville Unified)
“Parkinson's Tremor Detection” 
Avneesh Gandhi 

Third Place, Showcase: 
Mata Elementary (Stockton Unified)
“The Art of Tongan Koloa” 
Melissa Hafoka

Ninth through 12th grade:

First Place, Science: 
Mountain House High (Lammersville Unified)
“Quantum-Inspired Reservoir Computing Using Simulated Spintronic Networks” 
*Pranay Rishi Nalem 

Second Place, Science: 
Mountain House High (Lammersville Unified)
“AI - Integrated Multi-scale Modeling of Baroreceptor Restoration” 
*Aman Nalem 

Third Place, Science: 
Merrill F. West High (Tracy Unified)
“Alzheimer's Skin Diagnostic Platform: Non-invasive Detection of Alzheimer's Disease Using Fluorescence Aptamer Binding to Interleuken-1 Beta as a Peripheral Biomarker” 
Shreya Mahendran 

First Place, Engineering: 
Mountain House High (Lammersville Unified)
“ICAM: A Novel Non-Invasive Portable Device Leveraging PPG and Respiratory EMG Signatures for Resource-Efficient Detection of Ictal Central Apnea in Non-Convulsive Seizure Monitoring” 
*Syeda Zainab Fatima 

Second Place, Engineering: 
Mountain House High (Lammersville Unified)
“DynaMag: Dynamic Electromagnetic Control and AI-Assisted Targeting of Drug-Mimicking Particles Under Physiological Flow”
Haramrit Bal, Pradhyun Akkala, and Abishek Renjith 

Third Place, Engineering: 
River Islands High School (Banta Unified)
“MultiRS HAB Mapper: A Multi-Model Remote Sensing System for Harmful Algal Bloom Detection using Google Earth Engine” 
Aahlad Bysani 

First Place, Math/Computer Science: 
Mountain House High (Lammersville Unified) 
“A Deep Learning Ensemble for Retinopathy of Prematurity Classification in Neonatal Fundus”
*Hanish Acharla 

Second Place, Math/Computer Science: 
Mountain House High (Lammersville Unified)
“CogniCents: Harnessing Behavioral Psychology to Escape the Debt Trap” 
Alok Hiriyur 

Third Place, Math/Computer Science: 
John C. Kimball High (Tracy Unified)
“Flare Gaurds: Flare Locating and Risk Estimation for Guarding Critical Systems” 
Aishwarya Lenka 

First Place, Showcase: 
John C. Kimball High (Tracy Unified)
 “A Silent Strain Within” 
ShivKanishk Jonnalagadda 

Second Place, Showcase: 
John C. Kimball High (Tracy Unified)
“Elements: The Violent Pulse of Peace” 
Yashaswini Chary Kondoju and Harithekshita Reddy Kankanala 

Third Place, Showcase: 
Mountain House High (Lammersville Unified)
“Who am AI” 
Jasleen Bihal

*San Joaquin County representatives for the California Science and Engineering Fair