18-year-old builds AI system to track particle collisions, wins $40,000

Seth NabatPhoto: Society for Science Every year, nearly 1,900 of the nation’s most promising high school seniors submit original research to the Regeneron Science Talent Search (Regeneron STS), the oldest and most prestigious science and mathematics competition in the United States. According to the Society for Science, which runs the competition, the Regeneron STS recognises and empowers young scientists who are developing ideas that could solve society’s most urgent challenges. Started in 1942 as the Westinghouse Science Talent Search, the competition has a long history of identifying future leaders in STEM. Among the 2026 top ten winners was Seth Nabat, an 18-year-old from Winnetka, California, who earned tenth place and a $40,000 award for his innovative machine-learning project on particle collisions. Read on to know more about his invention here:A breakthrough in physicsSeth Jacob Nabat, a senior at William Howard Taft Charter High School in Woodland Hills, California, developed a machine learning program to make sense of the results of high-energy particle collisions. Physicists use computer models to study these collisions, but when programs expect symmetrical results, it s...