2026 Science Investigation Prize Winners

*Please note this list is not indicative of place winners, entries have been listed in alphabetical order. Prize winners will find out the outcome of their entry at the Presentation Ceremony.

Prize Winners

Highly Commended 

Click on 'more information' to view written reports for each project.

R-2 Prize Winners

Luke Boucher

St Peter's Woodlands Grammar School

Project: Humans vs Reality

Haider Chaloob

Pulteney Grammar School

Project: Run, Jump, Breathe, Repeat!

Finn Gelsthorpe

Prince Alfred College

Project: Investigating microplastic pollution

3-4 Prize Winners

Ethan Chao

Scotch College - Junior School

Project: Egg Odyssey - Can Non-Newtonian Fluids reduce damage caused by gravity?

Alexander Praino

Pembroke School - Middle School

Project: Would you put your face on a toilet? Investigating bacteria on mobile phones

Jack Sellwood

Vale Park Primary School

Project: Water Organsims in Different Temperatures

5-6 Prize Winners

Daniel Boucher

St Peter's Woodlands Grammar School

Project: Hear Today, Gone Tomorrow

Amir Chaloob

Pulteney Grammar School

Project: Optimising Water Rocket Efficiency

Daniel Maddern

Pulteney Grammar School

Project: Wrinkly Finger: Is it all just a case of nerves?

7-8 Prize Winners

Quinn Hansen

Glenunga International High School

Project: Do people who read books for pleasure have a better short-term memory?

Paris Nguyen, William Maddern

Immanuel College

Project: Simple pop rocket, complex science

Thavin Siow

Norwood International High School

Project: Kitchen Science: Which Common Method Produces the Easiest-to-Peel Hard-Boiled Eggs?

9-10 Prize Winners

Ray Mao

Glenunga International High School

Project: Investigating the effect of sodium carbonate concentration on the electrochemical restoration efficiency of tarnished sterling silver

Simasiku Sepo

Walford Anglican School for Girls

Project: Enamel under attack: How popular drinks are destroying your enamel

Mishka Thriipathi

Unley High School

Project: Bending light to disappear: An investigation in to optical cloaking

11-12 Prize Winners

Junichiro Arita

Hamilton Secondary College

Project: Extraction of Cellulose from Plant Materials and its Potential as an Alternative Materials to Plastics

Zarif Hossain

Glenunga International High School

Project: The effect of changing the alternating current supplied to the solenoid on the amplitude of oscillations a copper ring experiences when levitated using electrodynamic and electromagnetic suspension

Benita Wu

Seymour College

Project: Benita Wu - Effect of Curcumin Concentration and Iron Overload

Chloe Yew

University Senior College

Project: From Heat to Electricity: Investigating Energy Harvesting Using Thermoelectric Generators

2026 Science Investigation Highly Commended 

R-2 Highly Commended

Manal Bint Shameem, Jannah Ma

IQRA College

Project: Where Is The Safest Place At School If You Forget Your Hat?

Diyon Kodithuwakku

Mawson Lakes School

Project: Why does crumpled paper fall faster?

3-4 Highly Commended

Estelle Carr

Scotch College - Junior School

Project: The great plant playlist - Does music help plants grow?

Amber Prunty 

Southern Vales Christian College - Morphett Vale

Project: The 5 Second Rule

Evie Williams

Goodwood Primary School

Project: Temperature on the Moon!

5-6 Highly Commended

Senali Ariyarathne, Isobel Mayers, Anabelle Westren

Edwardstown Primary School

Project: Which insulation is the best??

Edwin Dow

Stirling East Primary School

Project: Erasable Pens

11-12 Highly Commended

Napon (Beacon) Rodjanathum

Glenunga International High School

Project: Bio-antiseptics; A Cross-Cultural Comparative Analysis of Thai and Australian Botanicals in the Treatment of Staphylococcus-Infected Eczema

Dishitha Ayyar

Glenunga International High School

Project: Effectiveness of Prescribed Burning in South Australia