After years of online presentations, the 2023 Regional Science and Engineering Fair (RSEF) took place on March 20-23. Students from all over the Loudoun County Public School District met to present the research they have been working on over the school year. The last big in-person fair took place in 2018 before the pandemic broke and shut down not just schools and office buildings, but also a student’s ability to collect tangible data for their research. 

Peng and her partner, senior Michael Sing, did their project on the effects of light frequencies on fruit flies. “It was a year-long process, and there was a lot of writing and researching to pull things together,” Peng said. As the date of the fair got closer, Peng noticed an uptick in work required for her project. “We had to compile all of the data that we had gathered and make it into a cohesive project and figure out what information was necessary,” Peng said.   

There were around 300  participants at the fair this year, and over 25 organizations presenting awards. Junior Jagadeepram Maddipatla was one of the five science fair finalists. Maddipatla was also a first place contender for the Curtiss-Wright Embedded Systems Award and won the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) Technology Excellence Award at the fair.

Gallery • 5 Photos

Sudeepa Pasupuleeti

Seniors Krishna Kunshetty (left) and Arvind Srinivasan (right) present their research to a contest judge.