PHOENIX - TelAve -- The Arizona Technology Council and the Arizona Commerce Authority today announced the winners of the Future Innovators of the Year and Teacher of the Year awards to be honored at the 2025 Governor's Celebration of Innovation (GCOI). These awards highlight the brightest students in Arizona's science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) community, as well as the teachers who inspire them to succeed. The students and educators will be recognized during GCOI, scheduled for Wednesday, November 12, 2025, from 5:00 to 8:30 p.m. at Chateau Luxe, 1175 E. Lone Cactus Drive, Phoenix.

"Arizona's future depends on cultivating young innovators and celebrating the teachers who spark their passion for STEM," said Steven G. Zylstra, president and CEO of the Council and SciTech Institute. "The Future Innovators and Teacher of the Year represent the next wave of leaders shaping our innovation ecosystem, and it's a privilege to recognize their achievements."

"The Future Innovators and Teacher of the Year award winners are helping shape the future of Arizona's innovation landscape," said Sandra Watson, President and CEO, Arizona Commerce Authority. "Their accomplishments reflect Arizona's vibrant innovation ecosystem, and we're proud to recognize them in partnership with the Arizona Technology Council."

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The Future Innovator of the Year winners represent outstanding participants of the Arizona Science and Engineering Fair (grades 9-12). Winners will receive $1,500 scholarships to advance their education while honorable mentions will receive $500 scholarships. The Teacher of the Year will receive a $1,500 cash award while the honorable mention will receive a $500 award.

Future Innovators of the Year Award Winners

• Siyaa Poddar, Grade 12, Arizona College Prep High School (Chandler)

Project: Developing a Rapid, Colorimetric Metal Organic Framework for Airborne Silica and Uranium Detection: A Novel Approach to Pollutant Monitoring and Health Risk Assessment in Indigenous Communities for Sjogren's Syndrome

• Shireen Arora, Grade 9, BASIS Chandler

Project: The Efficacy of Consumption of Ashwagandha on Mitigation of Alzheimer's Disease Pathology: A Drosophila melanogaster Model

• Elias Chang, Grade 12, BASIS Mesa

Project: From 2D to 3D: Enhancing Lung Nodule Segmentation in Computed Tomography Scans with Anatomy-Based Self-Supervised Learning

• Ananya Lakkaraju, Grade 10, Hamilton High School (Chandler)

Project: A Novel Machine Learning Method and Drug for the Diagnosis and Treatment of Depression

Future Innovators of the Year Honorable Mentions

• Akshay Karthik, Grade 11, Hamilton High School

Project: THETA: Triangulated Hand-State Estimation for Teleoperation and Automation in Robotic Hand Control

• Ganeshsai Talluri, Grade 11, BASIS Peoria

Project: A Novel Multi-Omics Deep Learning Framework for Spatiotemporal Cerebral Cortex Localization and Expression

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Teacher of the Year Award Winner

• Amber Struthers, Tempe High School & Corona del Sol High School (Tempe)

Teacher of the Year Honorable Mention

• Pradip C. Misra, Bagdad High School

The Future Innovator and Teacher of the Year Award winners were evaluated and chosen by a selection committee independent of the Council. The committee included members of the Arizona Council of Engineering and Scientific Associations, which supports, promotes and coordinates programs and activities of the engineering and science associations within the state through facilitated communication and leadership.

To learn more about GCOI and the Future Innovators and Teacher of the Year award winners, or to purchase tickets for the Council's flagship event, please visit https://www.aztechcouncil.org/event/2025-governors-celebration-of-innovation-awards/