Five Lynchburg City Schools (LCS) students participated in the highly competitive 2026 Virginia State Science & Engineering Fair (VSSEF) at Piedmont Virginia Community College in Charlottesville on April 10-11. These students earned a spot in the state competition after excelling at the Central Virginia Regional Science Fair on March 14 against public and private school students from Amherst County, Appomattox County, Bedford County, Campbell County, and the city of Lynchburg. Thirteen out of 81 students from the Central Virginia region were chosen to participate in the VSSEF.
All LCS CVRSF participants attend Central Virginia Governor’s School for Science and Technology (CVGS), an advanced regional school, in addition to E. C. Glass High School or Heritage High School.
State Qualifiers
The following students competed in the VSSEF, which featured 180 projects presented by the winners of 12 regional science fairs.
Gabriel Friedman, E. C. Glass High School (ECG): 3rd Place in Plant Sciences
“Comparing the Effects of Different Fertilizers on Glycine max Grown in Lunar Regolith”
Friedman’s project won third place in the state competition for plant sciences.
Matthew Rader, ECG
“Testing the Limits: Revival of Hypsibius exemplaris After Dehydration and Vacuum Exposure”
Elijah Korby, Heritage High School (HHS)
“Decomposition of Plastics Using Colonostachys rosea”
Olivia Judy, HHS
“Trapping Water, Not Skin: An In-Vitro Study of Hyaluronic Acid and Occlusive Moisturizers”
Jude Haske, ECG
“How Lacrosse Heads are Strung and the Impacts on Shot Velocity and Accuracy”
Regional Awards
The following students won awards in the CVRSF.
Grand Alternate Award: Biological Sciences
ECG student Matthew Rader won the prestigious Grand Alternate Award for Biological Sciences at the CVRSF for his project, “Testing the Limits: Revival of Hypsibius exemplaris After Dehydration and Vacuum Exposure.”
Category Winners
The following students received awards in their categories:
Animal Sciences
1st place: Matthew Rader, ECG
2nd place: Tovia Carothers, ECG
Biochemistry/Computational Biology
1st place: Elijah Korby, HHS
2nd place: Isla Wasson, HHS
3rd place: Wyatt Sutton, ECG
Biomedical & Health Sciences
1st place: Olivia Judy, HHS
Chemistry
3rd place: Paul Okojie, HHS
Earth & Environmental Sciences
2nd place: Madison Coghill, ECG
Honorable mention: Wren Kuk, ECG
Engineering & Technology
2nd place: Hayes Stands, ECG
Honorable mention: Elizabeth Wood, ECG
Microbiology
Honorable mention: Brandon Johnson, HHS
Physics & Astronomy
1st place: Jude Haske, ECG
Honorable mention: Chanelle Kungu, HHS
Plant Sciences
1st place: Gabriel Friedman, ECG
Honorable mention: Gavin Johnson, HHS
Special Awards
The following students won local, state, and national special awards:
ASCE Lynchburg Branch, Local Engineering Awards
1st place: Elizabeth Wood, ECG
2nd place: Daniel Dixon, ECG
Central Virginia Dental Society Research Award
Gabriel Friedman, ECG
Naval Research Awards
Elaina Howard, HHS
US Air Force Awards
Elizabeth Wood, ECG
Daniel Dixon, ECG
National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration Award
Wren Kuk, ECG
Citadel Securities Innovation Prize
Hayes Stands, ECG
Ricoh Americas Corporation Environmental Award
Elizabeth Wood, ECG
National Association of Biology Teacher Awards
Olivia Judy, HHS
