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Winning projects

What strong projects actually look like — the question they asked, the design that survived review, and the one decision that made the difference.

Archive entries are summaries compiled for study. Read them for how a project was structured, argued, and defended — not as a template to reproduce. Copying someone else's project is the one thing that will end yours.

30 projects

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MCMC Sampling of Origami and Linkages

Hikaru Kuribayashi

Grand award · Regeneron ISEF 2026

Simulation software that applies Markov chain Monte Carlo sampling to the configuration space of folded structures and mechanical linkages, exploring many folding states at once instead of following a single path. The intended applications are compact deployable structures such as satellite solar sails and folded medical devices.

  • origami
  • computational-geometry
  • simulation
  • +2
Physics & AstronomyPhysics and Astronomy
advanced

Nanocellulose Hydrosponges for 6PPD-Q Removal

Lakshmi Agrawal

First place · Regeneron ISEF 2026

Reported roughly 80% removal of the target contaminant, using 85% less energy and costing 98% less than the alternatives it was compared against.

  • water-treatment
  • 6ppd-quinone
  • nanocellulose
  • +2
Chemistry
advanced

Solvability of Equations in Elementary Functions

Nikola Veselinov

First place · Regeneron ISEF 2026

A new theorem giving conditions under which an equation cannot be solved in elementary functions, developed by combining ideas from topology, symmetry and Galois theory.

  • pure-mathematics
  • galois-theory
  • topology
  • +1
Mathematics
advanced

Pultrusion and Extrusion to Recycle Filament

Benjamin Davis

First place · Regeneron ISEF 2025

Reported about 45% greater efficiency than comparable systems at roughly 90% lower cost.

  • 3d-printing
  • recycling
  • pultrusion
  • +2
EngineeringEngineering Technology: Statics and Dynamics
advanced

Real-Time Assessment of Deteriorative Airborne Risks

Siyaa Poddar

First place · Regeneron ISEF 2025

Low-cost detectors for toxic silica and uranium dust, built from colour-changing chemistry stabilised inside metal-organic frameworks, developed with Indigenous communities near abandoned mines in the US Southwest in mind.

  • air-quality
  • metal-organic-frameworks
  • colorimetric-sensing
  • +2
Materials Science
advanced

Total Synthesis of Novel Antivirotics

Adam Kovalčík

Grand award · Regeneron ISEF 2025

Cut the synthesis from 15 steps to 10, roughly doubled yield in less time, and brought the reported cost down from about $75 per gram to about $12.50 per gram.

  • organic-synthesis
  • antivirals
  • green-chemistry
  • +2
Chemistry
advanced

Doping in Organic Electrochemical Transistors

Grace Sun

Grand award · Regeneron ISEF 2024

Work on improving organic electrochemical transistors — the switching devices at the heart of flexible bioelectronics — with an eye to sensors and treatment devices for conditions including diabetes, epilepsy and organ failure.

  • organic-electronics
  • transistors
  • bioelectronics
  • +1
Materials Science
advanced

Capturable Carbon Dioxide to Save Our Bees

Aakash Manaswi

Third place · Regeneron ISEF 2026

Reported mite elimination as effective as pesticide treatment, without pesticide residues, alongside improved hive health measures.

  • beekeeping
  • varroa
  • pest-management
  • +1
BiologyAnimal Sciences
advanced

MXene-Based RFID Tags for Plastic Waste Sorting

Kevin Sun

Third place · Regeneron ISEF 2026

Radio-frequency identification tags printed from conductive MXene material that identify a plastic's type during sorting and then dissolve during standard recycling instead of contaminating the output stream.

  • recycling
  • mxene
  • rfid
  • +2
Materials Science
advanced

Investigation of Ship Wakes

Aleksandra Petkova

Third place · Regeneron ISEF 2025

A study of how vessel speed shapes wake patterns, combining aerial photography of real wakes with controlled trials using remote-controlled boats, to predict the speed that minimises drag for a given hull size.

  • fluid-dynamics
  • ship-wakes
  • drag
  • +1
Physics & AstronomyPhysics and Astronomy
advanced

Memory and Selfishness in the Prisoners Dilemma

Cory Seelenfreund

Third place · Regeneron ISEF 2025

Simulation and mathematical modelling of how memory length and degree of self-interest change outcomes in the iterated prisoner's dilemma, framed around implications for AI agent design.

  • game-theory
  • prisoners-dilemma
  • agent-based-modelling
  • +1
Mathematics
advanced

A curry leaf tree extract as a treatment for citrus greening disease

Tanishka Balaji Aglave

Third place · Regeneron ISEF 2024

A natural alternative treatment for citrus greening, using curry leaf tree extract injected directly into tree trunks. Citrus greening has no cure and has reshaped citrus agriculture wherever it has spread.

  • plant-pathology
  • citrus-greening
  • agriculture
  • +1
BiologyPlant Sciences
advanced

A Novel Second-Order Cone Programming Algorithm

Michelle Wei

First place · Regeneron ISEF 2024

A faster algorithm for second-order cone programming, a convex optimisation form that sits underneath applications in machine learning, transportation and financial systems.

  • optimization
  • convex-programming
  • algorithms
  • +1
Systems Software
advanced

Relationship Between Wastewater and FP in Turtles

Maddux Alexander Springer

Third place · Regeneron ISEF 2024

Field research on fibropapillomatosis in green sea turtles, examining its relationship to wastewater input, invasive algae, and the amino acid arginine as a possible mechanistic link.

  • marine-biology
  • sea-turtles
  • fibropapillomatosis
  • +2
BiologyAnimal Sciences
advanced

Energy-Free Power Saving Device for Air Conditioners

Eugene Chen

Third place · Regeneron ISEF 2023

A device that redirects an air conditioner's own cooling-fan airflow to spray its condensate onto its condenser, lowering condenser temperature and cutting power draw — using only waste water and airflow the unit already produces.

  • energy-efficiency
  • hvac
  • evaporative-cooling
  • +1
EngineeringEnergy: Sustainable Materials and Design