Riverside, CA - Students from Corona-Norco Unified School District earned top honors at the 2026 Riverside County Science and Engineering Fair, where 530 students presented 367 projects across 22 scientific categories, marking the event’s largest participation since 2016.

Students from schools across Riverside County showcased innovative research and scientific inquiry, with several Corona-Norco USD students earning gold medals, special awards, and advancement to state and international competitions.

Sweepstakes Winners

Two Corona-Norco USD projects earned Sweepstakes Awards, recognizing the top project in their division:

Elementary Division (Grades 4–5)
Victoria Zhou, Garretson Elementary School
Harnessing the Power of IoT Devices for a Convenient and Safer Society

Senior Division (Grades 9–12)
Adithiyan Sathees and Nilay Vora, Centennial High School
Integrated Deconvolution of Oxidative, Colloidal, and Rheological Failure Modes Governing Microvascular Oxygen Delivery in Hemoglobin-Based Oxygen Carriers Under Field-Mimicking Thermal Cycling

Advancing to the International Science and Engineering Fair

Two Corona-Norco USD students were also selected to advance to the Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF), to be held May 9–15, 2026, in Phoenix, Arizona:

• Adithiyan Sathees and Nilay Vora, Centennial High School

• Deeba Siddiqui and Filza Jamal, Santiago High School

CNUSD Gold Medal Winners

Several Corona-Norco USD students earned gold medals, which advance Junior and Senior Division winners to the California State Science and Engineering Fair.

Elementary Division

• Omar Reyes — Garretson Elementary School

• Victoria Zhou — Garretson Elementary School

Junior Division (Grades 6–8)

• Audri Bautista — Raney Intermediate School

• Diksha Uppal — Corona Fundamental Intermediate School

• Vienna Zhou — El Cerrito Middle School

Senior Division (Grades 9–12)

• Chaitra Ayinampudi — Eleanor Roosevelt High School

• Ava George — Centennial High School

• Filza Jamal — Santiago High School

• Rayyan Khalique — Centennial High School

• Trevon Nguyen — Centennial High School

• Dylan Patel — Centennial High School

• Arav Randhawa — Corona High School

• Avijeet Randhawa — Corona High School

• Adithiyan Sathees — Centennial High School

• Deeba Siddiqui — Santiago High School

• Tarini Siram — Eleanor Roosevelt High School

• Sai Srinika Bommineni — Eleanor Roosevelt High School

• Harleen Virk — Eleanor Roosevelt High School

• Nilay Vora — Centennial High School

• Leila Vu — Eleanor Roosevelt High School

Additional Awards and Recognitions

Corona-Norco USD students also received several special recognitions and community awards, including:

• Lincoln Fundamental Elementary School — Rylan Ho, Sohum Jain, and Rudra Patel (Inland Regional Energy Network Award)

• Eleanor Roosevelt High School — Adithiyakrishna Ayyappan, Vaidya Cherukuri, and Caiden Voong (Inland Regional Energy Network Award)

• Centennial High School — Syed Ali and Dario Nunez (Regeneron Biomedical Science Award)

• Centennial High School — Helen Duenas (Ricoh USA, Inc. Award)

• Centennial High School — Gurnoor Kaur (Naval Science Awards Program)

• Eleanor Roosevelt High School — Derek Zhang (U.S. Metric Association Award)

Inspiring the Next Generation of Scientists

The Riverside County Science and Engineering Fair brings together students from public, charter, and private schools throughout the region, providing a platform for young scientists to share their research and explore solutions to real-world challenges.

Congratulations to all CNUSD students who represented the district with innovation, curiosity, and excellence.