Tomball ISD Students Earn Top Honors at Science and Engineering Fair of Houston

TOMBALL — Tomball ISD students recently showcased their scientific curiosity, innovation, and research skills at the Science and Engineering Fair of Houston (SEFH), earning top placements among competitors from across the region.

SEFH serves as the regional fair for junior and senior high school students from Harris County and 22 surrounding counties. Major regional winners are eligible to advance to the International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF), one of the world’s largest international science competitions for high school students.

Tomball ISD students earned the following honors:

1st Place
Junior Division (Grades 6–8) – Behavioral and Social Sciences
Vihaan Shah – Creekside Park Junior High School
Project: “PeerSense: Predictive Modeling of Substance Use Risk Based on Peer Pressure Susceptibility in Adolescents”

1st Place
Junior Division (Grades 6–8) – Robotics and Intelligent Machines
Reyansh Gupta – Willow Wood Junior High School
Project: “Implementing a Hybrid CNN-Transformer Model for ASL Fingerspelling Translation”

3rd Place
Senior Division (Grades 9–12) – Chemistry
John Lezama – Tomball High School
Project: “Utilizing Grand Canonical Monte Carlo Simulations to Identify Optimal Zeolites in Post-combustion Carbon Capture”

3rd Place
Senior Division (Grades 9–12) – Mathematics
Sana Kale – Tomball High School
Project: “Modeling Cell Migration Using Geodesics Derived from Image-Based Tissue Metrics”

Through the development and presentation of science and engineering projects, students participating in SEFH strengthen a wide range of critical academic and life skills. Students make detailed observations, ask meaningful questions about scientific phenomena, formulate procedures to solve complex problems, and apply analytical reasoning to reach solutions.

Participants also gain valuable experience communicating their research, presenting findings to judges and members of the scientific community.

“Tomball ISD is proud of these students for their dedication to research and innovation,” David Surdovel, Tomball ISD Director of Math and Science said. “Opportunities like the Science and Engineering Fair of Houston allow our students to explore complex scientific challenges while developing the critical thinking and problem-solving skills that prepare them for future success.”

Tomball ISD congratulates all participating students for their hard work and dedication to scientific discovery and applauds those who earned top placements at the regional competition.

ABOUT TOMBALL ISD
Tomball ISD educates students to become responsible, productive citizens by providing innovative, individually rigorous, and personally valuable educational experiences. Founded in 1908, Tomball ISD now encompasses 83 square miles in northwest Harris County and southwest Montgomery County, and is located approximately 30 miles from downtown Houston. The district currently educates over 23,000 students across 25 campuses.