More than 2,000 students, teachers, and volunteers took part in the 2026 Southern California Science Olympiad State Tournament , hosted at Caltech and Polytechnic School in April. Organized nationwide, Science Olympiad competitions test teams of middle and high school students on their STEM knowledge and abilities. 2026 marked the 11th year that Caltech has hosted the state tournament, with Caltech students setting up, supervising, and scoring challenges on 23 STEM topics for 64 teams from across Southern California. Undergraduates Edward Zhang and Jinhuang (Jin) Zhou, co-presidents of the Caltech Science Olympiad Alumni Chapter , led the effort.…