Audrey Cowen also a Category Winner in Microbiology; all eight Team Canada-ISEF finalists recognized in Phoenix at the world’s largest youth STEM competition

Ottawa, May 15, 2026 – Evan Budz, from Burlington, Ontario, received the $50,000 Gordon E. Moore Award for Positive Outcomes for Future Generations at the 2026 Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF) for transforming his previously developed self-propelled underwater robot, designed to swim through the water like a sea turtle, into a real-time microplastics detection platform using a new 3D holographic camera system powered by holographic imaging and artificial intelligence. Budz also walked away as a Category Winner in Environmental Engineering and with two Special Awards. Youth Science Canada’s Team Canada-ISEF delegation earned six Grand Awards and eight Special Awards in Phoenix, Arizona, where 1,727 finalists from 67 countries, regions, and territories competed at the world’s largest youth science competition.

“Each of these students has taken an original question or idea and developed it into a project they can be proud to present on any stage in the world,” said Reni Barlow, executive director at Youth Science Canada. “Seeing that work recognized on an international stage is a reminder of what’s possible when young Canadians are given the tools and the opportunity to pursue their curiosity.”

 

Members of Team Canada-ISEF competed at the 2026 Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair in Phoenix, Arizona, May 9 – 15. Team Canada (from left to right) included students Imran Allarakhia, Syd West, Sara Waqas, Audrey Cowen, Emily Huang, Matthew Shen, Justin Guo, and Evan Budz, pictured at ISEF 2026 on May 13. Photo: Adelina Nielsen.

 

Team Canada-ISEF’s Grand Award recipients are listed below.

Gordon Moore Award ($50,000) and First Grand Award — Environmental Engineering

Evan Budz, Grade 10, Burlington, Ont.

In Situ Microplastic Detection Using Holographic Imaging and AI on an Autonomous Bionic Sea Turtle

First Grand Award — Microbiology

Audrey Cowen, Grade 11, Toronto, Ont.

Harnessing Inhibition of Efflux to Reverse Antifungal Resistance

Second Grand Award — Computational Biology and Bioinformatics

Matthew Shen, Grade 12, Maple, Ont.

A Multi-Omic “Digital Embryo” Framework to Model Early Human Preimplantation Development In Silico

Second Grand Award — Environmental Engineering

Justin Guo, Grade 10, Vancouver, B.C.

SmartFilter: A Universal Non-Fouling MNMP and Non-Polar Pollutant Wastewater Filter

Third Grand Award — Embedded Systems

Syd West, Grade 12, Kentville, N.S.

A Wearable System for Real-Time Detection and Attenuation of Hazardous Visual Stimuli

Fourth Grand Award — Robotics and Intelligent Machines

Imran Allarakhia, Grade 10, Oakville, Ont.

CareBotix in Motion II: Integrating Advanced Manipulation, Autonomous Navigation, and Social Interaction in a Platform Agnostic Robotics System

Six Team Canada-ISEF students also received Special Awards from sponsoring organizations:

Emily Huang, Grade 12, Waterloo, Ont.

• Westlake University —Priority consideration for a four-year full undergraduate scholarship

Evan Budz, Grade 10, Burlington, Ont.

• Midjourney — $2,500
• International Council on Systems Engineering (INCOSE) — Certificate of Honourable Mention and one-year student membership

Imran Allarakhia, Grade 10, Oakville, Ont.

• International Council on Systems Engineering (INCOSE) — Certificate of Honourable Mention and one-year student membership

Justin (Jiaxing) Guo, Grade 10, Vancouver, B.C.

• The Knowledge Society — 2nd Place

Matthew Shen, Grade 12, Maple, Ont.

• National Anti-Vivisection Society — $3,000
• Consortium for Mathematics and Its Applications (COMAP) — Honourable Mention

Sara Waqas, Grade 11, Calgary, Alta.

• The Knowledge Society — 2nd Place

 

“The breadth of disciplines represented by this year’s award recipients and the sophistication of the questions each of them chose to pursue reflect the strength of Canada’s STEM fair pipeline. These are students who have been working on meaningful scientific problems for years. Results like these are the product of that sustained commitment,” said Dr. Marc Roussel, chair of the Team Canada-ISEF selection panel for Youth Science Canada.

The YSC Team Canada-ISEF program is made possible through the generous support of the Gwyn Morgan and Patricia Trottier Foundation through its Youth Can Innovate program.

Canada’s presence at ISEF 2026 extended beyond Team Canada. Delegations from two regional STEM fairs, the Bay Area Science and Engineering Fair and the Montreal Regional Science and Technology Fair, also competed in Phoenix, each with longstanding ISEF affiliations. They were recognized with the following awards:

Bay Area Science and Engineering Fair

Grand Awards

Third Award — Earth and Environmental Sciences ($1,200)

Maria Polyanska, Oakville, Ont.

WindDrift: Engineered Real Time Adaptive Platform for Atmospheric and Marine Sensing

Special Awards

Maria Polyanska, Oakville, Ont.

WindDrift: Engineered Real Time Adaptive Platform for Atmospheric and Marine Sensing

• Association of Old Crows Educational Foundation — 2nd Place

Montreal Regional Science and Technology Fair

Grand Awards

Second Award — Physics and Astronomy ($2,400)

Bill Xu and Kuan Yi Wang, Pointe-Claire, Que.

Scalable Quantum Error Decoding With Sparse Graph Neural Networks

Special Awards

Yuecheng Ma, Pointe-Claire, Que.

T-Identity – Let’s Make Digital Lives Safer

• Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence (AAAI) — AAAI Membership for the School Library
• Society Alumni Special Award — Excellence in Science Communication

The students who competed at ISEF this week earned their spots through Canada’s national STEM fair network. That cycle continues next week, when 393 students from across the country, including the eight members of Team Canada-ISEF, gather in Edmonton, Alta., for the 2026 Canada-Wide Science Fair, running May 23 to 30. Among them will be the next generation of Team Canada candidates.

– 30 –

About Youth Science Canada

Youth Science Canada empowers Canadian youth to engage their curiosity in discovering and innovating through STEM projects. A registered charity incorporated in 1966, YSC delivers on its mission through national programs, including mySTEMspace, the National STEM Fair Network, Canada-Wide Science Fair, STEM Expo, Team Canada representation at international fairs and Smarter Science professional development for teachers. Through these programs, YSC directly supports the more than 500,000 students who do STEM projects in any given year. For more information, visit youthscience.ca.

About the Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair

The Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair (Regeneron ISEF), a program of Society for Science for over 75 years, is the world’s largest global science competition for high school students. Through a global network of local, regional and national science fairs, millions of students are encouraged to explore their passion for scientific inquiry. Each spring, a group of these students is selected as finalists and offered the opportunity to compete for more than US$7 million in awards and scholarships. Learn more at societyforscience.org/isef.

For more information:

Dalia Esposito
Torchia Communications
[email protected]
Cell: 514-654-2635