Los Alamos High School freshman Linus Plohr placed 3rd in the Behavioral and Social Science category at the 2026 Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair. Courtesy photo
Brothers Tate and Linus Plohr find their names among the over 1,700 competitors at the 76th Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair. Courtesy photo
LAPS NEWS RELEASE
Linus Plohr, a freshman at Los Alamos High School, placed 3rd in the Behavioral and Social Science category at the 2026 Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF) in Phoenix, Arizona. This was the 76th year for the ISEF.
Linus received an award of $1,200 for his 3rd place finish. His project was titled Collective Intelligence: Driving Lessons From Ants.
Junior Tate Plohr also represented LAHS at the ISEF, competing in the Senior Physics and Astronomy category. His project was titled Dust Busters: The Effects of Dust Scattering on Observations of X-Ray Binaries. This was Tate’s second year competing at the ISEF.
More than 1,700 young STEM students, representing more that 67 countries, regions and territories competed at this year’s ISEF. Winners shared nearly $7 million in awards.
Regeneron ISEF brings together the world’s most promising young scientists and engineers to showcase research with real-world impact. Through this competition, Regeneron and the Society are fostering the next generation of STEM leaders who are helping to solve real-world challenges to improve our world.
“Congratulations to the extraordinary young scientists of Regeneron ISEF 2026. My own scientific journey began in high school, supported by great teachers, driven by a fearless youthful belief that I could cure my grandmother’s disease, and inspired by the excitement and challenge of science competitions,” said George D. Yancopoulos, M.D., Ph.D., co-Founder, co- Chairman, President and Chief Scientific Officer of Regeneron. “I continue to believe that the best hope for overcoming the greatest threats facing humanity lies in inspiring brilliant young minds to take on these challenges. That’s why Regeneron proudly invests hundreds of millions of dollars in programs like ISEF and the Science Talent Search. We’re celebrating not only what these students have already achieved, but the extraordinary impact we know they’ll have next.”
Click here to learn more about the Regeneron ISEF. View all the finalists’ research projects here:
https://isef.net/categories.