Innovative Research Earns Top Award at Texas Junior Academy of Science

Harmon Hong ’29 earned top honors at the 2025 Texas Junior Academy of Science on October 9 and 10 at Texas A&M University. He presented in 10 subcategories of Natural Science and Physical Science/Engineering Divisions. Competing among 100 high school students across the state, Harmon won first place in the subcategory of Medicine & Health/Behavioral and Social Sciences, and overall/grand second place across all divisions for his research paper and live presentation titled “Virtual Pathology Lab (VirtualPaL): A Novel Application for Invasive Ductal Carcinoma (IDC) Segmentation and Classification in Whole Slide Imaging (WSI).” 

Along with the other five top six overall winners, Harmon was awarded a cash prize and invited to serve as a Texas delegate and present in person at the 2026 National American Junior Academy of Science annual conference in Phoenix, Arizona, in February. Harmon, along with the other student delegates, will be inducted as lifetime Fellows into the American Junior Academy of Science.

The Texas Junior Academy of Science competition included two rounds. Under each subcategory, Harmon and his fellow competitors presented to two judges and public audiences in the preliminary judging round. First-place finishers from each of the 10 subcategories were then selected and they presented to six judges and public audiences as finalists. 

Felipe Parra supported Harmon in the TJAS competition, providing timely and valuable feedback on his research paper. “We are deeply grateful to Mr. Parra for his mentorship and insightful feedback on Harmon’s research paper, as well as to Mrs. Abbott and Mr. Lombardi for their continued support throughout Harmon’s FWCD journey,” said Harmon’s mother, Fan.

Harmon’s success reflects the strength of FWCD’s academic community and the parent-school partnership. His achievement is the result of years of learning from teachers and leveraging opportunities the School has offered to build strong presentation skills and a solid scientific foundation.