Engineering Design
- Environment
New ocean sanctuaries house young coral and even flee peril
Two ISEF finalists want to foster growth of new coral reefs. So these teens designed and built self-navigating, undersea houseboats for coral larvae.
- Tech
This squirrel-like robot has some serious hops
Salto the jumping robot has a claw-like gripper. Like a squirrel, it can adjust its movement to help it stay balanced to stick a landing on "branches."
- Life
Research without lab animals? New tech is making it possible
For decades, scientists have worked to phase out the use of animals in research. AI, ‘lungs’ on a chip and more are bringing that goal closer.
- Environment
Eco-friendly sunscreen? That’s bananas!
Bananas make their own natural sunscreens. A teen thinks these could work to protect our skin as well, while being safe for aquatic life.
- Tech
You can ‘grab’ these virtual displays and manipulate them midair
Such interactive floating graphics and virtual objects could be used to make more immersive video games and museum exhibits.
- Materials Science
This electric ‘slime’ might help injuries heal faster
Our bodies call in healing cells with an electrical signal. When stretched or squeezed, this gel makes electricity that could boost that alert.
- Tech
Soft helpers and bio-inspired tech: a match made in robot heaven
Hugging toys offer emotional support to anxious kids and slithering snake-like robots may bring rescue aid to people trapped in dangerous conditions.
- Chemistry
Teen finds cheaper way to make drugs against killer viruses
This drug-making achievement also nabbed the top award — and $100,000 in prize money — at the 2025 Regeneron ISEF competition.
- Artificial Intelligence
Teen’s software for spotting AI-generated text just got personal
Rather than seeking generic signs of AI-generated text, it compares two texts to confirm they both share a writer’s unique style.
- Artificial Intelligence
AI, make me a video game
Developers can use AI to generate code, dialog, playable environments and more. But at its heart, making video games remains a creative human endeavor.
- Materials Science
A beautiful blue butterfly wing offers a new way to study cancer
Once a morpho butterfly wing is placed atop a thin slice of tissue, shining polarized light through it can help reveal how likely breast cancer is to spread.
- Materials Science
This engineer uses light to get hearts pumping
Pengju Li designed a new type of pacemaker to help doctors during open-heart surgery.
