Winners of the 2026 Reading-Berks Science and Engineering Fair

Nearly 300 students showed off their scientific skills during the recent 74th annual Reading-Berks Science and Engineering Fair.

The event, the second-oldest science fair in the country, was held inside Albright College’s Bollman Gymnasium.

And after all the projects were presented to judges, five students found themselves with some much-deserved hardware. The following are winners of the fair announced at a ceremony Thursday:

Grand champion

• William Ferenchick, Wilson High School

• Project name: Hopper: a Biomimetic, Tendon-driven, Series Elastic Jumping Robot.

• Description: Hopper is a biomimetic jumping robot that uses tendon-like elastic components and a knee-inspired mechanism to store and release energy efficiently, enabling it to jump over 26 centimeters while demonstrating how nature-inspired elasticity can improve robotic movement, efficiency and safety.

Champion

• Heidi Ding, Wilson High School

• Project Name: Optimization and Characterization of an Enhanced qPCR Assay for HBV cccDNA: Integrating Advanced Pretreatment to Improve Sensitivity and Specificity.

• Description: Ding developed an improved lab test that can more accurately detect and measure a specific form of hepatitis B virus DNA by using special preparation steps before testing, allowing the test to find very small to very large amounts of the virus while avoiding false signals from other similar viral DNA.

Reserve Champion

• Scarlet Neider, Conrad Weiser High School

• Project Name: Solidification methods for keratin-based bioplastic production.

• Description: Neider evaluated several methods for making keratin-based bioplastics and found that compression molding produced the best material.

Winners of the 2026 Reading-Berks Science and Engineering Fair senior division, from left, William Ferenchick, Wilson High School, grand champion; Heidi Ding, Wilson High School, champion; and Scarlet Neider, Conrad Weiser High School, reserve champion. (Courtesy of Gregory Przyjemski)

Champion Sixth Grade

• Maeve Quirk, Conrad Weiser Middle School

• Project Name: The Effect of Layered Skincare Products in Viral TikTok Routines on UV Transmission.

Champion Seventh Grade

• Kyrill Reinard, LaSalle Academy

• Project Name: Building a Better Solar Tracker.

Champion Eighth Grade

• Connor Ciemiewicz, Conrad Weiser Middle School

• Project Name: The Effect of Organic Waste on Anaerobic Digestion.

Reading-Berks Science and Engineering Fair sixth grade champion Maeve Quirk, Conrad Weiser Middle School, left, and seventh grade champion Kyrill Reinard, LaSalle Academy. (Courtesy of Gregory Przyjemski)

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