Engineering Design

  1. Space

    Collecting trash in space

    Space junk threatens satellites that cost millions of dollars. But one teen has come up with an idea to collect and dispose of that orbiting trash.

    By
  2. Chemistry

    The science of getting away with murder

    A student took her love of crime shows to the next level. She did a science fair project to find out which cleaner works best at getting rid of bloody evidence.

    By
  3. Brain

    Studying? Don’t answer that text!

    Homework time? Put away the cell phone. Responding to texts gets in the way of learning and test-taking, teen researchers show.

    By
  4. Materials Science

    Keeping roofs cooler to cut energy costs

    Cool it! A cheap paint-on coating for roofing shingles could help reduce a home’s heating bills and might even trim urban ozone levels, a teen shows.

    By
  5. Tech

    Teens want to make windshield wipers obsolete

    Windshield wipers often can’t keep up with the rain. High-intensity air sprays might one day take their place, according to research by two teens.

    By
  6. Oceans

    Carbon dioxide levels rise fast and high

    The buildup of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is rising faster than at any time since dinosaurs roamed the Earth. The burning of fossil fuels is largely to blame.

    By
  7. Animals

    Return of the bed bug

    Bed bugs have staged a comeback over the past 15 years. The bloodsucking parasites succeeded through a combination of evolution and luck.

    By
  8. Tech

    Stepping out with a smarter cane

    Many older people trip and fall on uneven ground. A Colorado teen has designed a ‘smart’ cane to help seniors avoid dangerous obstacles.

    By
  9. Tech

    Making cents of sounds

    Some people give up when a vending machine rejects their money. But one student decided to turn his frustration into inspiration. Through research, he showed how to identify coins by the sounds they make.

    By
  10. Health & Medicine

    Bones: Custom cushioning helps heal a bad break

    If the stiff casts encasing broken limbs included an inflatable air bladder instead of a soft lining, costly and painful complications experienced by some patients during healing might be avoided, two teens reported at the 2015 Intel ISEF competition.

    By
  11. Brain

    Hands-free but still distracted

    When people aren’t distracted, they can see a traffic light change very quickly. But a teen scientist now shows that texting — even with a hands-free device — gets dangerously slow.

    By
  12. Animals

    What’s the buzz? A new mosquito lure

    Broadcasting a fake buzz can lure male Aedes aegypti mosquitoes away from females. That could reduce populations of these annoying — and disease-causing — insects, reports a teen at the 2015 Intel ISEF competition.

    By