Two talented students from Silicon Valley have made it to the finals of the 2025 Regeneron Science Talent Search. This competition is the longest-running event for high school seniors in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM).
On Thursday, Regeneron Pharmaceuticals and the Society for Science announced the 40 finalists. Among them, two students from Silicon Valley stand out: Yash Ranjith from Westmont High School in Campbell and Charlotte Ava Rosario from The Nueva School in San Mateo.
Yash is exploring how pollution spreads using physics. Charlotte is studying brain structures in relation to mood and anxiety among transgender and cisgender youth. Their innovative research showcases their potential as future leaders in science.
These finalists will compete during a week-long event from March 6 to 12. They will represent 39 high schools from 16 states and vie for over $1.8 million in awards. During the competition, they will present their research and engage with leading scientists in the field. The top 10 winners will be announced on March 11, with a live stream from Washington D.C.
Each finalist will receive at least $25,000, while the top 10 will earn between $40,000 and $250,000. The finalists were selected for their unique research as well as their achievements and leadership in school and their communities.
This year, the competition received 2,471 applications, the highest number since 1967. George D. Yancopoulos, a former winner, emphasized the impact of science on improving lives and expressed his optimism for the finalists’ future contributions.
Here are the California finalists:
Yash Ranjith
School: Westmont High School, Campbell, CA
Project Title: Modeling Pollution Spread With Obstructions Using Physics-Informed Neural Networks
Charlotte Ava Rosario
School: The Nueva School, San Mateo, CA
Project Title: Examining Brain Structure in Relation to Mood and Anxiety in Pubertal Transgender and Cisgender Youth
Elisa Zhang
School: Dougherty Valley High School, San Ramon, CA
Project Title: Patching Multi-Location Software Bugs: A Multi-Agent Large Language Model Framework for Automated Program Repair
Minghao Zou
School: Valley Christian High School, San Jose, CA
Project Title: A New Particle Pusher With Hadronic Interactions for Modeling Multimessenger Emission From Compact Objects
Rivka Lipkovitz
School: Proof School, San Francisco, CA
Project Title: The Differential Effects of Strict Voter Identification Laws on Election Type and Adoption Timing
