Simon Iliukhin wins Chinook Regional Science Fair

Central School's Simon Iliukhin has a potentially billion-dollar idea that propelled him to win at the Chinook Regional Science Fair. His project, Integrated Control of Hazelnut Weevil (C. nucum) Population: Introducing CRISPR-Cas9 Technology, placed 1st in the Best-In-Fair Awards to earn one of two spots at the national science fair.

"It means a lot to me," Illiukhin said. "I've had a dream to go to the Canada-Wide Science Fair ever since I learned about it in grade six.

I've had a few project ideas, but I picked this one because my project would provide a huge stepping stone towards achieving this and saving potentially billions of dollars in the hazelnut industry." His project aimed to develop an effective, eco-friendly solution to control hazelnut weevil populations in agricultural systems.

Illiukhin hypothesised that if the hazelnut shells are harder, the female weevil cannot easily lay eggs inside them. This would r educe infestations and increase the number of usable hazelnuts. His project offered potential solutions for genetically increasing the hardness of hazelnut shells.

"My main achievement was that I found the MIB transcription factors for 46 and 83 in chromosomes 1 and 10," Illiukhin said.

"By locating those transcription factors, then if it goes one step further, CRISPR-A can be implemented to edit those in hazelnuts, and they can be spread out to grow trees with that gene in them, and the cycle will go on and on in agricultural sectors." Having a father in a similar field was part of what motivated him to study this subject.

"My father does have a background in this, and I've always been interested in this too," Illiukhin said. "I've noticed that because of pests, many farms are losing tons of potential profit, and chemicals are not so effective. They can also cause harm in humans and beneficial organisms, such as some bacteria." The 2026 Canada-Wide Science Fair is set for Edmonton from May 23 to 30.

"I'm very excited to put more work into it and into my project," Illiukin said. "I've heard many great things about the Canada-Wide Science Fair.

There are many kids at the Candle White Science Fair who are deeply passionate about their topic, and it would be very fun to see what they have, learn a thing or two, and compete." He is also hoping to potentially win scholarships that will help cover some of the costs of his future education.

Illiukhin will be joined at the Canada-Wide Science Fair by Amirtha Ravishankar of Fairview School, who finished 2nd in the Best-In-Fair Awards for her project, Brain, Games and Memory . Hazlet's Amani Sletten finished 3rd for her project, Chilling For Change: The Science Of Cold Water Recovery.

Cental School's Toni Chalmers and Emily Green placed 4th for their project, Clean or Unseen . Iliukhin won the Junior Category, Sletten won the Senior Category, and Anson Anderson of the Swift Current Comprehensive High School won the Intermediate Category for Germs In Our Grip: How Clean Are Our Pencils?