LRSEF promoted 96 winning projects to compete in the 24th annual Kentucky Science & Engineering Fair (KY-SEF) held at Eastern Kentucky University on Saturday, March 28, 2026.
Promotion by a regional fair is the only way students can compete at KY-SEF. On that day, 32 of the 96 LRSEF projects won Category Awards. Twenty projects from LRSEF won Special Awards including eight LRSEF students named as Junior Innovators Challenge nominees and four students won Amazon Awards at KY-SEF. Therefore, of the 96 LRSEF projects 52 awards were won at KY-SEF. This is an outstanding achievement.
LRSEF students won three of the six KY-SEF Best of Fair in the middle school division.
- Sophia Fitzgerald of Saint Francis of Assisi, Louisville, won Best of Fair for “Sunlight’s Effect on Drug Toxicity in Aquatic Systems” in the Physical Sciences category.
- Saneesh Nagane of Noe Middle School, Louisville, won Best of Fair for “Eraser Wipeout: The Quest for the Optimal Eraser” in the Physical Sciences category.
- Carole Erwin of Saint Francis of Assisi, Louisville, won Best of Fair for “Exploring Accupressure as Stress Reduction in Horses” in the Life Sciences category.
An LRSEF student won one of the six KY-SEF Best of Fair in the high school division.
- Gopalaniket Tadinada from North Oldham High School, Louisville, won Best of Fair for “AIRA: A Novel, Multimodal, & Automated Platform for the Risk-Guided Execution of Maximal Safe Glioma Resection” in the Life Sciences category.
Since Aniket Tadinada won a Best of Fair and trip to the International Science & Engineering Far at both LRSEF and KY-SEF—he could only win ONE place on Team KY. LRSEF was able to promote our first runner up—Sophia Lee from Collegiate HS to join Team KY at ISEF. LRSEF will have 6 projects at ISEF in May.
Eighteen different LRSEF schools were represented among our winners at state: St. Francis of Assisi, Sacred Heart Model School, Nur Islamic School of Louisville, Crosby, Echo Trail, Hopkinsville, St. Mary Academy, Montessori School of Louisville, Ohio County and Noe middle schools, as well as Ballard, Central, North Oldham, South Oldham, Trinity HS, Gatton Academy, Eminence and Louisville Collegiate high schools.