Broadcom Coding with Commitment® Goes Global
InternationalProgram Highlights
Broadcom Foundation's ISEF special award to Ronan Lyons from The Midlands, Ireland opens the door to a technical exchange with Broadcom Inc. engineers in Cork
As a young child, Ronan Lyons walked into a major science competition in Dublin, saw hundreds of projects, and said to himself, "I want to be here one day." Fast-forward to July 6, 2026, where Ronan was standing before over fifty engineers at the Broadcom Inc. office in Cork, Ireland, presenting his award-winning medication dispensary device.
The Broadcom Coding with Commitment® award recognizes a student who combines STEM learning with coding to solve a community problem they care about, and that aligns with the 17 Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations (SDG). In awarding Ronan the first Broadcom Coding with Commitment® at the 2026 Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF) in Phoenix, Arizona, Broadcom Foundation expanded its goal of advancing digital and AI literacy through community-driven problem-solving to the global stage. When Ronan’s name was announced at ISEF, he was so surprised that he initially did not realize the award included a $10,000 prize, which not only honored the ingenuity of his project, but the creation of a digital device that achieved SDG # 3 – Good Health and Wellbeing.
The device that Ronan named CAPILL (Compliance Aid Promoting Independent Living Long-term) is a code-driven, 3D-printed medication system designed to help people with reduced hand mobility manage medications safely and independently. Ronan knew from his work at a local pharmacy and his interactions with customers how difficult it is for someone with mobility issues derived from arthritis, rheumatism, or Parkinson’s disease to open bottles and packets to manage their medication; and his pharmacy work revealed the problem he set out to solve.
CAPILL combines a fingerprint scanner, stepper motors, alarms, and prompts controlled by computer code, plus an app that allows family members and care providers to support medication use while protecting independence.
Broadcom Foundation Chief Financial Officer Maria Wronski was on hand in Phoenix, Arizona to present Ronan with his special ISEF award. Over the summer, she traveled to Ireland with foundation president Paula Golden to celebrate Ronan’s achievement at the Broadcom Inc. office in Cork, where Barry Gavigan, Joanna Eaton, and James O’Brien hosted Ronan’s visit. Local engineers listened closely to his presentation and asked wide-ranging questions about CAPILL and its future development.
Commencing with a crude prototype of a paper plate, cardboard box, and paper cup, Ronan refined and built a working model using a functioning 3D-printed system. As he explained the methodology of CAPILL to the Broadcom Engineers, he noted, “You never have a finished product. What I have done is good, but I can do better.”The Cork team offered to bring a group of engineers together for a future technical session with Ronan. The brainstorming exchanges will give him new perspectives as he refines CAPILL while giving Broadcom Inc. engineers the opportunity to engage in his approach to problem-solving.
Broadcom Foundation’s presence at ISEF extended beyond this award. More than 150 fair directors attended the foundation-sponsored Science Fair Directors Institute (SFDI) reception. SFDI leaders Jordan Krell, Michael Blueglass, Alexa Groff, Emily Meyer, and Jody Oostema each run successful science fairs, yet still find time to create opportunities for fair directors worldwide, including the ISEF reception and an annual conference, both of which are designed to have directors exchange best practices and strengthen relationships. The SFDI’s fall 2026 conference, also sponsored by Broadcom Foundation, will focus on science fair ethics, evaluation, partnerships, succession planning, and artificial intelligence.
Michael Blueglass, Jordan Krell, Paula Golden, Alexa Groff, Emily Meyer, Jody Oostema
The impact of the foundation’s Broadcom Coding with Commitment® initiative was also evident at ISEF, with past Broadcom Foundation award winners returning as 2026 ISEF finalists: Uma Sthanu, Helen Wan, Bode Monahan, Nikita Prabhaker, Shivum Teleng, Mrityunjuy Gupta, Finnegan McGill, Ethan Hu, Achuth Vinay, and Vedika Devarajan.
Broadcom Foundation CFO Maria Wronski and Assistant Director for STEM Advancement Cheryl Braun, spent time with five of the finalists, learning about their current projects and encouraging them to keep using coding and AI to “act locally and think globally.”
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Broadcom Inc. is a technology leader that designs, develops, and supplies semiconductors and infrastructure software for global organizations’ complex, mission-critical needs. Broadcom combines long-term R&D investment with superb execution to deliver the best technology, at scale. Broadcom is a Delaware corporation headquartered in Palo Alto, CA.
Broadcom Foundation advocates basic coding and AI literacy as 21st Century+ skills to solve community problems that students care about that align with the 17 Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations. Broadcom Foundation promotes digital literacy as the confident use of the full range of digital technologies, including basic knowledge of coding and AI, and provides a catalyst for students to learn basic coding and AI as essential problem-solving tools in STEM.
