The 66th Annual DAHS Science and Engineering Fair, held Jan. 31- Feb. 1, showcased months of student research and experimentation. With projects ranging from environmental studies to advanced materials, the competition highlighted both creativity and problem-solving at a high level.
In the Senior High Division, several strong projects stood out.
The Grand Champion title went to juniors Farah Badreldin and Anna Roperti for their project “Exploring How Polymer Variation and Concentration Influence Gel Strength.”
Seniors Sanjay Satheesh and Steven Coulson earned Reserve Grand Champion for their project on self-healing hydrogels. Their work focused on how certain materials can repair themselves while maintaining strength and conductivity, a topic with real-world applications.
Satheesh’s interest in science began long before this project.
“I first got interested in science watching a bunch of kids sci fi shows and movies growing up,” he said.
That early interest carried into hands-on work during the fair, where he found parts of the project genuinely fun.
“I enjoyed making the hydrogel slime the most bc it was fun to play with.”
One of the more impressive parts of their project was how they made it work without advanced equipment.
“All the tools for our project was stuff we got at home or from our chem class,” Satheesh explained.
This required both creativity and adaptability, especially when testing their ideas.
Coulson contributed heavily to the development of the project and its structure.
“I helped think of our project idea and develop the testing method and paper,” he said.
According to Coulson the process wasn’t without challenges.
“The most challenging part about the research was finding a way to test our project without lab grade machines.”
Despite those obstacles, their efforts paid off.
“It was definitely unexpected to win, but it was good to see our efforts pay off,” Coulson said.
Their success reflects the overall spirit of the science fair—students taking initiative, solving problems, and pushing their ideas further.
Winners moved onto the York County Science and Engineering Fair at Penn State York on March 10-11.
