2026 Sponsors

Funds received July 1, 2025 to date

LRSEF thanks all donors and sponsors for their generous support of LRSEF 2026 on March 7, 2026. Those interested in supporting the fair by sponsoring a special award or making a general donation can still make a gift online.

We regret any omission or errors; please email info@lrsef.org with corrections.

Title Sponsor
$10,000 and Above

LRSEF is supported by GE Appliances, a Haier company, through the GE Appliances Community Engagement Grant Program.

$5,000 – $9,999

Irvin F. and Alice S. Etscorn Charitable Foundation

Kentucky Science Fair Endowment

$3,000 – $4,999

$1,000 - $2,999

Amazon Innovation Fund of the Kentucky State Science & Engineering Fair

The Gibson Family Special Awards Fund

$500 - $999

Memorial fund for Ray Glass, LRSEF volunteer and Kiwanis member

In-Kind Sponsors of Gifts Totaling $500 and Above

$499 and below

AAK USA

ALL 4, LLC Environmental Consultants

American Society of Civil Engineers – Kentucky Section

Anytime Waste Systems

AECOM

Atlas Technical Consultants

Bakelite Synthetics, Inc.

Brownfields Environmental Consulting

Carbide Industries, LLC

DuPont Specialty Products

ECKART America

ESG-EHS Services, LLC

Highlands Environmental, LLC

Jefferson County Soil and Water Conservation District

Kentucky Air and Waste Management Association

KPFF

Kroger Community Rewards Program

Linebach Funkhouser, Inc.

Louisville Chapter of the Society for Neuroscience

Net Tango

Norton Children’s Research Institute (NCRI) Affiliated with University of Louisville School of Medicine

SAMTEC

Shield Environmental Associates, Inc.

Swope Family Foundation

Terracon Consultants, Inc.

Trinseo

The SESCO Group

University of Michigan Alumni Club of Louisville

Individual Donors & Board of Directors* (all amounts)

Anonymous Donors (5)
Dr. Tim Adams*
Therea Bascom
Dr. Lynette Breedlove
Debbie Fuller Shwab Clemmens*
Nelson Clemmens
Andrew Clifton
Kumar Chellappan
Keith Cole*
Cecelia Denegre
Mark Donnelly
Sam Earls*
Joseph Erskine*
Michael Erskine
Carmen Estopare*
Ronda Fields*
Kathy Fries
Mark & Shellie Garman*
Carson Garrett*
Dr. Tina Gibson *
Dr. Lawrence Gettleman*
Joel & Charlotte Gittelson*
Zoe Gillespie
Luis Gomez
Corinne M. Greenberg*
Edie Greenberg
Jason Greenberg
Cheryl Harris
Louise Ndolo-Hermann
Cheri Hildreth
Ellen Hillenmeyer
Mark Hussung
Ravishankar Jayaram*
Joshua Jacob
Glenda Jones*
James Kalla
Megean Kincaid
Cheryl Kirby-Stokes
Jennifer Koenig
Maria Koetter
B. Lewis
Amy Lowen
George Mahon
Vanita Mani*
Nick Mattei
Eric Mattei
Theresa Mattei*
Michael Mattei
James McDonald
George McNair*
Dottie McNair
Keri Meador*
Michael Moreland*
Anthony Muller
Charles Muller
Kaya Muller*
Jean Murphy-Jacob
Chelsea Newhall
Sarah Osbourne*
Bob Olsen*
Jeff Petruska
Cathy Plummer
Meredith Pritchett*
Ross Pritchett
Dr. Beth Quinn*
Allison Ray
Terry Roach*
Sarah Smith
Woo Smith
Mark Spalding
LS Srinivasan
I-Hsuan Strauss
Celeste Sutter
Kimberlee Turner
Jennifer Vermillion*
Jason Vermillion
Chris Wahl*
Catherine Werner
Celeste White
Frederick Whittaker*
Stuart Williams*

Memorial & Honorary Gifts

In honor of Dr. Robert Acland & John Kurt Brueckner, the Junior Category Awards in BIOMEDICAL & HEALTH SCIENCES 2026 are sponsored by

Dr. Jeffrey Petruska and family.

The Junior Category Awards in TRANSLATIONAL MEDICAL SCIENCE are sponsored in honor of Charlotte and Joel Gittelson (former Fair Director and current member of the LRSEF Emertius Board) with their personal generous gift.

The Senior Category of COMPUTIONAL BIOLOGY & BIOINFORMATICS is sponsored in honor of Fred Whitaker, LRSEF Co-Fair Director by

LRSEF Board member Dr. Beth Quinn.

In honor of Aimee Turner, 2010-2013 LRSEF Best of Fair and ISEF Finalist, 2012 & 2013 ISEF Grand Award winner, donation by Kimberlee Turner.

In honor of Dr. Michael Mattei, donation by Zoe Gillespie.

Memorial Gifts

In memory of Dennis Sullivan, donated by Cheri Hildreth.

In fond memory of Al Younger who supported the science fairs and its printed program for many years by LRSEF Emeritus Board member Dr. Lawrence Gettleman.

Memorial gifts are sponsoring the following Categories with donations from LRSEF Emeritus Board members Keith Cole, Ronda Fields, Joel & Charlotte Gittelson, Bob Olsen, George McNair and by Theresa Mattei.

In memory of Robert “Bob” Baar, former LRSEF President, the Junior Category Awards in PHYSICS & ASTRONOMY 2026.

In memory of Dr. Thomas H. Crawford, former LRSEF Fair Director, Provost & Chemistry Professor at University of Louisville, the Junior & Senior Category Awards in CHEMISTRY 2026.

In memory of Dr. Nancy Keck, LRSEF Board & Emeritus member, STEM leader, one of the founders of KYSEF and hosts of ISEF 1997/2002 the Junior Category Awards in BIOCHEMISTRY and MICROBIOLOGY 2026.

Category Award Sponsors

Junior Sponsors ($150) – First Prize: $65, Second Prize: $50, Third Prize: $35

Animal Sciences (ANIM) – Highlands Environmental LLC

Behavioral & Social Sciences (BEHA) – Kiwanis Club of Louisville

Biochemistry (BCHM) – In Memory of Dr. Nancy Keck

Biomedical & Health Sciences (BMED) – In Honor of Dr. Robert Acland & John Kurt Brueckner

Biomedical Engineering (ENBM) – Michelle & Mark Garman

Cellular & Molecular Biology (CELL) – The SESCO Group

Chemistry (CHEM) – In Memory of Dr. Thomas H. Crawford

Computational Biology & Bioinformatics (CBIO) – Shield Environmental Associates, Inc.

Earth & Environmental Sciences (EAEV) – The Kentuckiana Chapter of Hazardous Materials Managers

Embedded Systems (EBED) – Vanita Mani

Energy: Sustainable Materials & Design (EGSD) – The Kentucky Chapter of the Air & Waste Management Association

Engineering Technology: Statics & Dynamics (ETSD) – ECKART America

Environmental Engineering (ENEV) – AECOM

Materials Science (MATS) – Lubrizol Advanced Materials

Mathematics (MATH) – Brownfields Environmental Consulting

Microbiology (MCRO) – In Memory of Dr. Nancy Keck

Physics & Astronomy (PHYS) – In Memory of Robert “Bob” Baar

Plant Sciences (PLNT) – AAK USA

Robotics & Intelligent Machines (ROBO) – American Synthetic Rubber Co. (a Michelin company)

Systems Software (SOFT)- The Garrett Family

Technology Enhances the Arts (TECA) – Terry Roach

Translational Medical Science (TMED) – In Honor of Charlotte and Joel Gittelson

Senior Sponsors ($200) – First Prize: $85, Second Prize: $65, Third Prize: $50

Animal Sciences (ANIM) – Ravishankar Jayaram

Behavioral & Social Sciences (BEHA) – Kiwanis Club of Louisville

Biochemistry (BCHM) – Terracon

Biomedical & Health Sciences (BMED) – University of Michigan Alumni Club of Louisville

Biomedical Engineering (ENBM) – SAMTEC

Cellular & Molecular Biology (CELL) – Andrew Clifton

Chemistry (CHEM) – In Memory of Dr. Thomas H. Crawford

Computational Biology & Bioinformatics (CBIO) – In Honor of Mr. Fred Whitaker

Earth & Environmental Sciences (EAEV) – Linebach Funkhouser, Inc.

Embedded Systems (EBED) – Kentuckiana Chapter of Hazardous Materials Managers

Energy: Sustainable Materials & Design (EGSD) – ESG-EHS Services, LLC

Engineering Technology: Statics & Dynamics (ETSD)-DuPont Specialty Products USA

Environmental Engineering (EVEV) – All4, LLC Environmental Consultants

Materials Science (MATS) – Atlas Technical Consultants

Mathematics (MATH) – Trinseo

Microbiology (MCRO) – Anytime Waste Systems

Physics & Astronomy (PHYS) – Anytime Waste Systems

Plant Sciences (PLNT) – AAK USA

Robotics & Intelligent Machines (ROBO) – American Synthetic Rubber Co. (a Michelin company)

Systems Software (SOFT) – American Synthetic Rubber Co. (a Michelin company)

Technology Enhances the Arts (TECA) – Net Tango

Translational Medical Science (TMED) – Carbide Industries LLC

Local Special Award Sponsors

To become a Special Award Sponsor, make a gift online.

School Awards for top three Junior & Senior Schools
Sponsored by LRSEF – Trophies made by Asia Impact

Amazon Innovation Projects – KY Science & Engineering Fair

American Chemical Society, Louisville Section

American Society of Civil Engineers – Louisville Branch

Asia Impact of GE Appliances, a Haier Company

Bakelite Synthetic

Best of Fair Awards -Junior & Senior, GE Appliances, a Haier Company

Engineering Division U. S. Army Corps of Engineers

First Build Innovation Awards

The Gibson Family Special Awards Program

Kentucky Association of Professional Engineers

Kentucky Chapter of Air & Waste Management Association

Kentuckiana Chapter of Hazardous Materials Managers