Browse 1,254 ISEF projects that won Third Award, with abstracts and links to the original entries.
ISEF · 2026
Environmental Engineering Third Award
Over the last decade, more than 140 new emerging pollutants have been identified in wastewater treatment effluents, placing stress on existing infrastructure. These emerging pollutants inhib…
ISEF · 2026
Chemistry Third Award
Conventional methanol production relies on a two-step process, where carbon dioxide is first converted into synthesis gas (syngas) and then methanol. This syngas step requires increased ener…
ISEF · 2026
Engineering Technology: Statics & Dynamics Third Award
Electrohydrodynamic ( EHD ) propulsion, also known as ionic wind, is capable of producing thrust with no moving components. Using emitter and collector electrodes, EHD thrusters ionize and a…
ISEF · 2026
Software Design Third Award
Delay Differential Equations (DDEs) are a more realistic and powerful version of regular Differential Equations, and are extremely common in anatomy, chemistry, ecology, and climate research…
ISEF · 2026
Engineering Technology: Statics & Dynamics Third Award
A self-developed, open-source High-Temperature Superconducting (HTS) Applied-Field Magnetoplasmadynamic Thruster (AF-MPDT) platform for deep-space propulsion combines potential for high Isp…
ISEF · 2026
Earth and Environmental Sciences Third Award
Climate change continues to disrupt agricultural systems, making crop yield forecasting a critical component towards enabling climate resilience in agriculture. This project aimed to deciphe…
ISEF · 2026
Computational Biology and Bioinformatics Third Award
Epilepsy is a neurological disorder characterized by recurrent seizures, and affects nearly 50 million people, causing ~140,000 deaths worldwide annually. Many of these deaths could be preve…
ISEF · 2026
Translational Medical Science Third Award
Visual impairment (VI) affects 2.2 billion people worldwide, and 1 billion cases are preventable with early diagnosis. Retinal diseases are preventable causes of VI. Clinical Decision Suppor…
ISEF · 2026
Translational Medical Science Third Award
Purpose: About 7.2 million Americans are living with Alzheimer's Disease (AD), with the number expected to to double by 2060. Currently used drugs for AD only reduce disease symptoms and mar…
ISEF · 2026
Energy: Sustainable Materials and Design Third Award
Thermoelectric materials convert thermal energy directly into electrical energy based on Seebeck effect. An effective thermoelectric material must simultaneously possess a low thermal conduc…
ISEF · 2026
Environmental Engineering Third Award
Urban flooding is escalating into a critical global challenge, driven by the inability of conventional drainage inlets to handle increasing rainfall intensities due to rapid urbanization and…
ISEF · 2026
Chemistry Third Award
With the rapid expansion of lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) to EV cars and modern-day electronics, battery waste is projected to reach 8 million tons by 2040. Current recycling approaches, enco…
ISEF · 2026
Embedded Systems Third Award
Flashing lights are a common everyday occurrence that may seem insignificant but for people who suffer from migraines, neurodivergence with light sensitivity or photosensitive seizures, cert…
ISEF · 2026
Materials Science Third Award
Globally, every 1 in 10 babies are born prematurely, their lives dependent on neonatal incubators to maintain a high humidity environment and reduce water loss through their immature skin. H…
ISEF · 2026
Microbiology Third Award
Sunscreen and plastic pollution are widespread and pervasive in ocean waters, stressing marine life through chronic exposure. Previous studies have demonstrated certain fungi have the abilit…
ISEF · 2026
Biomedical and Health Sciences Third Award
Eosinophilic Esophagitis (EoE) is a chronic, immune-mediated esophageal disorder that currently requires repeated invasive endoscopic biopsies for diagnosis and disease monitoring. The absen…
ISEF · 2026
Software Design Third Award
Middle ear disorders are common but hard to diagnose without structural imaging. Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) offers an accessible alternative to CT, yet it produces noisy and partial…
ISEF · 2026
Behavioral and Social Sciences Third Award
Traffic is a universal phenomenon for humans leading to casualties, economic losses, and health problems. Interestingly, traffic has been observed in other species as well. For example, ants…
ISEF · 2026
Materials Science Third Award
Unexpected polymorphic transitions occur in over 50% of pharmaceutical drugs as they pack themselves into 2+ distinct lattice arrangements. These differing molecular structures destabilize t…
ISEF · 2026
Mathematics Third Award
What does a resistor network, the popular British game show Countdown, and a function from number theory have in common? These seemingly unrelated concepts share a fundamental, mathematical…
ISEF · 2026
Computational Biology and Bioinformatics Third Award
Reliable characterization of cell states, which encompass a cell's function, environment, and structure, is fundamental to comprehending healthy cell function and transition into diseased st…
ISEF · 2026
Earth and Environmental Sciences Third Award
Coral reefs are the world’s most vital marine ecosystems, producing 50% of the world’s oxygen and sustaining the livelihoods of 1 billion people globally. However, coral bleaching, a phenome…
ISEF · 2026
Animal Sciences Third Award
The rice field crab, Sayamia bangkokensis , is a freshwater semi-terrestrial crab with growing commercial significance, especially in soft-shell crab production. These crabs must be harveste…
ISEF · 2026
Software Design Third Award
Deepfake videos are increasingly convincing, yet current detectors show a frustrating gap between lab performance (over 90% accuracy) and real-world results (50–60% AUC) with latencies too s…
ISEF · 2026
Biomedical and Health Sciences Third Award
Leukemia remains a leading cause of global cancer mortality, with Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML) presenting the most aggressive clinical profile with frequent relapse even after treatment. Ove…
ISEF · 2026
Translational Medical Science Third Award
Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), which encompasses Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis, affects about 5 million people worldwide and is caused by the inflammation of the gastrointestinal…
ISEF · 2026
Environmental Engineering Third Award
Secondhand smoke (SHS) is a major public health concern, causing over 1.3 million deaths globally each year. Despite its links to cancer and respiratory disease, SHS is difficult to detect i…
ISEF · 2026
Engineering Technology: Statics & Dynamics Third Award
The World Health Organization (WHO) states over 2 billion people lack access to safe drinking water, exposing them to heavy metals, pesticides, and microbial toxins that cause cancer and dev…
ISEF · 2026
Environmental Engineering Third Award
Purpose: In Zimbabwe 72% of schoolgirls can’t affordable sanitary products. Globally, 500 million women and girls have inadequate access to sanitary products contributing to period poverty.…
ISEF · 2026
Behavioral and Social Sciences Third Award
OBJECTIVE: Cochlear implants (CIs) are the standard for treating profound sensorineural hearing loss, yet postoperative speech perception outcomes remain highly variable. This study hypothes…