Ryan Honary
At 17, won 2nd-place Grand Award in the Embedded Systems category at the 2025 Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF) for SensoRy AI’s wildfire-detection network — per Ryan Honary’s official bio (May 2025) and supporting coverage.
What they built
Ryan Honary developed SensoRy AI, an AI-powered wireless mesh sensor network capable of detecting wildfires in their earliest stages — before flames or smoke are visible — by sensing heat signatures using refractive index gradients and machine learning. He was inspired by the devastating 2018 Camp Fire and began the project as a child in 5th grade, founding the company in 2020. In February 2025, Orange County Fire Authority deployed his technology in Irvine, California, making it one of the first student-built AI systems to be adopted by a real fire agency. The system has received funding from the Office of Naval Research and Irvine Ranch Conservancy.
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