Sweetwater Union High School District Office — Site of Student Recognition
Ihan Sung spent under $100 on silicone tubing, polycarbonate parts and a 3-D printer to build a device that creates ammonia without the massive pressure, heat and electricity that industrial plants require. The 17-year-old Eastlake High School senior’s low-pressure glow discharge system, built with magnetic confinement and an iron oxide catalyst, earned him fourth place in chemistry at the 2026 Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair.
Sung was one of three Eastlake High students who competed at the Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair, according to The San Diego Union-Tribune. Their trip marked the first time in nearly three decades that the Sweetwater Union High School District had sent students to the Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair, a milestone the Sweetwater Union High School District Board of Trustees formally recognized during an August 10 board meeting in Chula Vista, as reported by The Star News. More than 1,700 student finalists from about 65 countries competed at this year’s fair for over $7 million in total awards, according to the Society for Science.
A Cleaner Way to Make Ammonia
Ammonia is a key component in the production of most fertilizers, but the standard Haber-Bosch process used to manufacture it industrially requires pressures of 150 to 200 bars and temperatures around 800 degrees Fahrenheit, draining enormous amounts of electricity in the process, per the Union-Tribune’s reporting. Globally, that process consumes roughly 1.5% to 2% of total energy production and generates around 1.4% to 1.8% of greenhouse gas emissions, according to the MIT Climate Portal. According to the U.S. Department of Energy’s 2016 Billion-Ton Report, emissions from the process used to produce ammonia fertilizer are included in the total emissions associated with biomass produced with ammonia…