“I am extremely honored to be the 2025 Soybean Science Challenge first place winner,” Meenachi said. “The opportunity to showcase my project on a state level is a thrilling experience and I am honored to be a part of it.” Meenachi received a $1,000 cash prize, and his teacher, April Owen, won the $300 top Teacher-Mentor Award.
The Challenge, held April 4 at the University of Central Arkansas, is part of a statewide competition supported by the Arkansas Soybean Promotion Board. It encourages high school students to explore science through soybean-focused research.
Sixteen-year-old Bennett Chen from the same school won second place for his project, “SoyCast: A Climate-Driven Deep Neural Network to Forecast County-Level Soybean Yields and Identify Environmentally Optimal Planting Regions.”
Chen work also earned him a $500 prize, the Arkansas Energy and Environmental Quest Award, and an ISEF finalist spot. Chen teacher, Lee Conrad, won a $200 Teacher-Mentor Award.
Regional winners included students from the Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences, and the Arts, Pinnacle View Middle School, and schools in Fayetteville, Jonesboro, and Texarkana.
“Soybean Science Challenge student researchers learn about this important commodity crop and its many uses, including feeding the world, development of biofuels and sustainable products,” said Julie Robinson, director of the Soybean Science Challenge. “It helps students develop an understanding of the challenges and complexities of modern farming.”
Gary Sitzer, a former member of the Arkansas Soybean Promotion Board said, “The program also rewards scientific inquiry and discovery that supports the Arkansas Soybean Industry."
Photo Credit: vishak-meenachi-winner