Poly Supports Consecutive Regeneron Scholar Winners

Kelly Z. ’26 has been named a Regeneron Science Talent Search Scholar, earning a place among the top 300 high school researchers nationwide in the competition’s 85th year. Kelly’s recognition continues a strong tradition of research excellence at Poly. Last year, Theo Kratter ’25 was also named a Regeneron Scholar, marking two consecutive years with students earning this national honor.

Presented by the Society for Science, the Regeneron Science Talent Search is the nation’s oldest science and mathematics competition for high school seniors. This year’s recognition is especially notable, as a record 2,612 students submitted highly competitive applications that underwent a rigorous, multi-stage review process. From this pool, 300 students were selected as Scholars.

As a Regeneron Scholar, Kelly will receive a $2,000 award to support her continued research. Poly will also receive $2,000 to support STEM-related programming and opportunities, further strengthening the school’s commitment to student research and innovation.

“I am deeply honored to be named a Regeneron STS Scholar,” Kelly shared. “I am excited to join a community of students and alumni who are passionate about using research to improve the world in their own unique ways. I am looking forward to connecting with and potentially collaborating with these researchers to bring together our ideas and skills and grow our initiatives.”

Kelly also emphasized the importance of institutional and faculty support in reaching this milestone. She credited the George Olah Fellowship for providing funding to purchase high-resolution satellite imagery, which played a critical role in improving the precision of her research platform. She also expressed gratitude to Upper School Chemistry Teacher Robin Barnes for encouraging her participation in local and state science fairs, where she was able to present her work to experienced judges in environmental engineering and receive valuable feedback. In addition, Upper School science teachers Snow Lu supported her through the recommendation process, and Tyler Saxton assisted with revising her research paper prior to submission.

“The funding I have received will help me further develop my project, whether by accessing higher-quality data or continuing implementation of my research,” Kelly said. “Poly has supported me in so many ways throughout this process, and I am incredibly grateful.”