In March 2026, HCDSB students were recognized for their achievements at the (BASEF), an annual competition for students to explore their interests in the fields of science, technology, engineering and math (STEM).
BASEF is open to all Grades 7-12 students from Halton Region, Hamilton, Haldimand County, Norfolk County, the County of Brant and Six Nations. The fair attracts over 500 students per year, with $300,000 worth of prizes awarded to those with the top science and engineering projects!
BASEF provides opportunities for students to compete at national and international levels. Congratulations to our incredibly talented student participants and winners!
2026 Award Winners:
| Name | Project Title | School | Award |
| Abigail Lin | Cracking Osmosis | Holy Trinity Catholic Secondary School, Oakville | Artistically Inspired Display Awards |
| Andy Sharpe | Germ Mystery: What’s Beneath Our School’s Everyday Surfaces | St. Andrew Catholic Elementary School, Oakville | McMaster University MGD Institute for Infectious Disease Research Awards |
| Ayaan Mawji | NeuroMind AI | Corpus Christi Catholic Secondary School, Burlington | Silver Merit Award BASEF Inspiration Student Awards |
| Nimish Vardhan | NeuroMind AI | Corpus Christi Catholic Secondary School, Burlington | Silver Merit Award BASEF Inspiration Student Awards |
| Emma Hernandez Loreto | Do Financial Earnings Affect Having A Certain Mental Illness within Families? | St. Andrew Catholic Elementary School, Oakville | Dr. Laura Blew Social Sciences Awards |
| Ava Smith | Do Financial Earnings Affect Having A Certain Mental Illness within Families? | St. Andrew Catholic Elementary School, Oakville | Dr. Laura Blew Social Sciences Awards |
| Marcus Dawe | The Rust-o-meter experiment: measuring household liquids rust ability. | St. Timothy Catholic Elementary School, Burlington | Chemical Institute of Canada 鈥� Hamilton Section Awards Society of Tribologists & Lubrication Engineers 鈥� Hamilton Section Awards Association for Iron & Steel Technology Northern Chapter Awards |
| Maximus Dupont | PSH research project | St. Mary Catholic Elementary School, Oakville | Nikola Tesla Innovation Awards |
| Phoenix Koshy | A new era of takeout: Edible Takeout Containers | St. Mary Catholic Elementary School, Burlington | Bronze Merit Award |
| Maya Terlecki | Husles | St. Mary Catholic Elementary School, Oakville | Hamilton Wentworth Occasional Teacher Awards |
| Lily Guirguis | The ECODome | St. Mary Catholic Elementary School, Oakville | Hamilton Wentworth Occasional Teacher Awards |
| Yaasmina Ranjith | The ECODome | St. Mary Catholic Elementary School, Oakville | Hamilton Wentworth Occasional Teacher Awards |
| Celina Yun | The Effects of Light Pollution on Marine Ecosystems and a Proposed Global Lighting Standard | St. Andrew Catholic Elementary School, Oakville | Bronze Merit Award Laurentian Chapter of SETAC Awards |
| Sham Alsaadi | NephroSense: Developing a CKD Screening Model to Explore Machine-Learning Breath Biomarker Testing | Bishop P. F. Reding Catholic Secondary School, Milton | Gold Merit Award Canada-Wide Science Fair Trip Awards |
| Zena Alsaadi | NephroSense: Developing a CKD Screening Model to Explore Machine-Learning Breath Biomarker Testing | Bishop P. F. Reding Catholic Secondary School, Milton | Gold Merit Award Canada-Wide Science Fair Trip Awards |
| Lohitaksh Badarala | AIM-VEE (AI-Based Modelling of Vertical Excitation Energies) | Bishop P. F. Reding Catholic Secondary School, Milton | Silver Merit Award Icor Group Ltd Innovation Awards |
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