Awards

Selected honors

1. Engineering · Conference

   ASEE 2026 Entrepreneurship & NSF Travel Awards

   Two awards at the 2026 American Society for Engineering Education annual conference.

   • Won the conference Entrepreneurship Award.
   • Received a National Science Foundation Travel Award to attend and present research.

2. Science · Machine learning

   International Science Fair Finalist

   1,600 finalist spots from 7,000,000 students worldwide. About 0.02%.

   • A finalist at the International Science and Engineering Fair, advancing through school, regional, and state or country rounds.
   • Two fair special awards: an Electronic Institute of Engineers award (one of three high-schoolers) and a Society of American Engineers award.
   • Redefined the fundamental equation for traffic efficiency, removing the time hyperparameter.
   • Trained a convolutional neural network to autonomously analyze traffic flow. Per Hawaii's Head of Traffic, cut traffic-analysis labor by over 80% and improved Waipahu High School's traffic methodology by 17%.

3. Drone · Autonomy

   SkillsUSA Drone Engineering National Champion

   National champion in 1 of 115 events, from 380,000 competitors. About 0.03%. Two-time state champion.

   • National champion and two-time state champion in SkillsUSA Drone Engineering, advancing through school, state, then national rounds.
   • Built a drone program to autonomously find and track suspicious personnel, and presented it to the Hawaii military.
   • Ran mock drone search-and-rescue missions for injured victims.
   • Passed the FAA Part 107 remote-pilot exam and independently flew 3D-model drone surveys of Waipahu High School.

4. Research · MIT

   Invited Research Talk at MIT

   Presented current research to a visiting cohort from Tecnológico de Monterrey, Mexico.

   • Gave a talk on my current research to PhD faculty and undergraduates from Tecnológico de Monterrey, Mexico, visiting MIT.

5. Music · Piano

   Morissette Amon Solo Piano Concert Opener

   Opened for the Philippines' Female Artist of the Year, before a roughly 4,000-seat paid audience.

   • Auditioned and interviewed to perform the opening set for Morissette Amon's Hawaii concert.
   • Played an hour of jazz and classical piano at Licentiate-Diploma level before roughly 4,000 paying guests.
   • Praised by her marketing team and asked to play more, and built the audience for biannual piano recitals.

6. Science · Hardware

   Hawaii Youth Investigators Top Award

   Top award among roughly 6,000 Hawaii Society of Science competitors.

   • Won research funding for "Invasive Algae Detection Using MiSo and Neural Networks."
   • Built MiSo under Applied Research Lab independent research: fully 3D-modeled and printed, a PCB I designed, about 94% cheaper than alternatives, and able to float on water.
   • Designed it to autonomously detect the invasive alga Kappaphycus alvarezii in Kaneohe Bay.

7. Science · Pitch

   Honua Top Pitch Scholar, 2nd Place Proposal

   One of 15 high-school proposals chosen to pitch, from roughly 6,000.

   • Soldered and assembled MiSo, then pitched the project to a panel of more than eight PhD professors.
   • Presented a plan spanning sensor development, neural-network modeling, autonomous boat deployment, and a fully green, organic-material goal.
   • Now in contact with laboratories to experiment with algae and reef samples.

8. Engineering · Team captain

   TEAM+S National Qualifiers Runner-Up

   Runner-up at nationals, with first place on the electrical-circuits exam.

   • Captained a four-student team through an eight-week essay, a two-hour multiple-choice exam, and a three-hour design challenge on the annual engineering theme.
   • Led the essay on populating a new world: aeroponics, reverse osmosis, nanotechnology, and 3D-printed habitat structures.
   • Scored first place on the multiple-choice exam (circuits, radiation, temperatures) and designed an airtight, enterable habitat.

9. Tennis

   USTA Junior Team Tennis

   16-time Hawaii state division champion. 8th at nationals, where 50 spots per division come from roughly 100,000 players.

   • Sixteen-time Hawaii state division champion in USTA Junior Team Tennis.
   • Practiced with a team drawn from six Hawaii high schools and won the state sectional tournament.
   • Competed at nationals in Orlando, Florida, placing 8th. The team fielded the tournament's highest-sportsmanship player.

10. Music · Trumpet

    Hawaii State Select Band, 3rd-Rank Trumpet

    A roughly 50-person select band from 165,000 auditioning students.

    • Auditioned into 3rd-rank trumpet, principal second part, in the Hawaii State Select Band, and performed two solos.
    • Studied under Dr. Travis Higa, a University of Oklahoma conductor, collaborating with students from 20 high schools.