Fox Chapel students place at statewide science competition

Four Fox Chapel Area School District students won awards at the 2026 State Meeting of the Pennsylvania Junior Academy of Science (PJAS). Fox Chapel Area first-place state winners were junior Param Thawani, freshman Rishabh Krishnamurthy and seventh-grader Alexandra Delale-O’Connor. The second-place state winner was junior Rachel Kim. Additionally, Param received a Perseverance Award.

The participating Fox Chapel Area High School and Dorseyville Middle School students were among approximately 2,000 students in grades 7-12 from across Pennsylvania who qualified to participate in the state PJAS competition. The students researched their science projects for several months and were required to give an oral presentation in front of a panel of judges.

The state competition was held at Penn State University, Main Campus, May 17-19. All of the Fox Chapel Area students participating at the state level were named first-place winners at the annual Region 7 Meeting of the PJAS in February.