A Distinguished Honor: Our Founders Serve as Grand Award Judges at Regeneron ISEF 2026
May 15, 2026 · Phoenix Convention Center, Arizona
Chaitanya Kulkarni and Chandrashekhar Medicherla had the privilege of serving as Grand Award Category Judges at Regeneron ISEF 2026 - bringing their industry expertise to evaluate the world's most exceptional pre-college science and engineering projects.
Embedded Systems - EBED
Software Design - SOFT
We are proud to share that Chaitanya Kulkarni and Chandrashekhar Medicherla each served as Grand Award Category Judges at Regeneron ISEF 2026, held at the Phoenix Convention Center in Phoenix, Arizona, May 9-15, 2026. Organized by the Society for Science, Regeneron ISEF is the world's largest and most prestigious pre-college science and engineering competition, bringing together over 1,600 finalists from 60+ countries who have each already won at the regional, state, or national level to earn their place on the international stage.
A Rigorous Selection Process
Being accepted as a Grand Award Judge at Regeneron ISEF is a distinction earned through professional standing, not application alone. The Society for Science requires judges to hold at minimum a Bachelor's degree with six or more years of directly relevant professional experience, or a doctoral degree with applicable industry or research experience. Every applicant undergoes a formal background screening through a third-party vendor and must sign a comprehensive Ethics Agreement. Society for Science staff personally review and approve each application - and retain sole discretion to accept or decline any candidate regardless of qualifications.
By the close of the application window for Regeneron ISEF 2026, both the Embedded Systems (EBED) and Software Design (SOFT) categories had reached full capacity and were no longer accepting new applicants. Kulkarni and Medicherla had secured their positions in both categories before they closed - a reflection of the depth of domain expertise each brings to their field.
Judges receive no compensation, honorarium, or travel reimbursement. Those selected participate entirely at their own expense - a deliberate choice by the Society for Science to ensure that every judge present is there for one reason: a genuine commitment to science and to the students who practice it.
Why This Matters
Selection as a Grand Award Judge at this level is a direct recognition of professional depth. It signals that an individual's expertise is considered authoritative enough to evaluate cutting-edge student research across an international field. For Kulkarni, a Principal DevOps Engineer at Oracle America Inc. with over two decades of experience in database performance technology and enterprise infrastructure, and for Medicherla, a Lead Software Engineer at Salesforce Inc. with 18 years of expertise spanning database technology and software engineering - this was an opportunity to bring that expertise to bear in service of the next generation of engineers and scientists. Their participation reflects a commitment to mentorship and community that extends well beyond their professional roles.
"Judging at Regeneron ISEF was a humbling experience. The ingenuity these students brought to embedded systems problems rivaled work I have seen from seasoned professionals. It reinforced why investing in the next generation of engineers is not optional - it is our responsibility."
- Chaitanya Kulkarni, Founding Chair - Embedded Systems Judge"The creativity and technical depth in the Software Design category was extraordinary. These young innovators are not waiting to change the world - they are already doing it. It was a privilege to evaluate their work alongside some of the brightest minds in the field."
- Chandrashekhar Medicherla, Founding Vice Chair - Software Design JudgeAs the chapter looks ahead to its Spring Tech Talk 2026 on May 31 and a full calendar of events through 2027, this recognition reinforces its standing as a meaningful platform for engineering leadership in the Salt Lake City region and beyond.
🎉 The Bluffdale Utah ACM Chapter extends its congratulations to Chaitanya Kulkarni and Chandrashekhar Medicherla for this well-deserved recognition. Their dedication to the broader engineering and science community is an inspiration to our membership and to the Utah tech community at large. 🌟