Two seniors from Ferris High School in Spokane brought home a second-place finish from one of the world’s most prestigious student science competitions this spring, earning international recognition for research that strikes close to home across the Pacific Northwest — an investigation into how wildfire smoke affects the germination of food crops.
Teddy Osborne, 18, and Anders Thogerson, 17, placed second in the world in the environmental science category at the Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF), held in Phoenix in May 2026. The pair competed against 1,383 projects submitted by students from 67 countries, taking home a $2,400 prize for their work.
A Year-Long Study Rooted in Regional Concern
The project grew out of a biomedical innovations class taught by Ferris instructor Darci Hastings, who has spent more than two decades in the classroom — roughly half of that time teaching this specific course. Osborne and Thogerson devoted the entire school year to designing, executing, and refining their study.
The core of the research involved exposing hundreds of seeds from three staple crops — broccoli, wheat, and rice — to wildfire smoke, then tracking how those seeds germinated compared to a control group that had not been exposed. The results were telling: smoke-exposed seeds germinated more slowly, grew at a reduced rate, and showed visible physical differences under microscopic inspection, including surface cracks and deposits not present on unsmoked seeds.
Hastings described her role in the months-long process as keeping the students on track. “I am the project manager,” she said. “I’m making sure you’re moving along at the pace.” With nearly 1,400 international competitors to contend with, that steady guidance proved valuable.
The students also received help from Anna Armstrong, Eastern Washington’s only other ISEF award winner, who contributed microscopic imagery using a scanning electron microscope. Armstrong, now a senior at Western Washington University, earned a fourth-place finish at ISEF in 2022 for a separate project involving biodegradable plastic made from fungi — making her both a predecessor and a collaborator for the Ferris team.
Rare Recognition for Eastern Washington
The Ferris pair’s second-place finish marks only the second time in the 76-year history of ISEF that a project from Eastern Washington has taken an award at the competition. That context underscores just how uncommon — and how significant — the achievement is for the region’s academic community.
Thogerson acknowledged that the team’s expectations heading into Phoenix were modest. “If we got a fourth-place award, that’d be sick, that’d be awesome,” he said. A second-place global finish far exceeded those hopes.
The subject matter carries real-world urgency across Idaho and the broader Northwest. As wildfire seasons have grown longer and more intense in recent years, questions about smoke’s effects on agricultural production have taken on increased practical importance for farmers, researchers, and policymakers alike. The Ferris study adds early scientific evidence to a question with direct economic stakes for crop-producing regions throughout the inland Northwest, including Nez Perce County and the broader Clearwater and Snake River agricultural corridors.
For educators watching student achievement in the sciences, the story also speaks to the value of hands-on research programs at the high school level. Programs like Hastings’ biomedical innovations course give students an early foundation in research methodology that can rival undergraduate-level work in both scope and quality. Idaho lawmakers have been examining the state’s broader school funding formula, and achievements like this one illustrate the kind of advanced coursework that robust school investment can support.
Local academic success stories like this one are also a reminder of what Idaho and Eastern Washington students can accomplish when given the right tools and mentorship. Student competitors across the region continue to represent their schools at a high level in academic competitions, from science fairs to civics challenges.
What Comes Next
Both Osborne and Thogerson are graduating seniors, meaning they will move on from Ferris High School following this milestone. Their research into smoke and seed germination could serve as a foundation for further study at the university level, particularly as agricultural scientists continue examining the environmental impacts of regional wildfire events. Armstrong’s involvement also suggests a potential mentorship pipeline between current and former ISEF competitors that could benefit future Ferris students pursuing similar research tracks. Hastings’ program, meanwhile, remains a recognized incubator for serious scientific inquiry in Eastern Washington.