ISEF projects, 2014–2026

Automatic Pencil Sharpener

Invention purpose : to design pencil full-automatic planing device with simple structure, to improve the automation degree of sharpening pen, environmental protection and to enhance the work…

Automatic Spirulina Culturing System Using Arduino

Algae, as primary producers, are important in every aspect of our daily lives. Ecologically and economically, they have been used to produce food and medicines for a long time. Various speci…

Autonomous Robotic Navigation

A robotic lawn mower will use a process of radio distance determination to autonomously map and mow a yard. The three sensors will communicate with the robotic lawn mower via radio frequenci…

Autonomous Sewage Cleaning Mechanism

Rainfall and sanitary sewage systems are important for epidemiological wellbeing of the cities; therefore appropriate maintenance of the sewage networks is important. Clogging of the sewage…

A Wing of the Future: Part III

Fourth Award

Aircraft are convenient and fast, but not very fuel efficient. Being a significant mode of transportation means large volumes of fuel are consumed and huge emissions result. In 2015, US airl…

Basil Protects Human Lung Cells from K. pneumoniae by Increasing Their Viability

Basil is used as a homemade remedy for many illnesses in India. I was interested in its scientific basis. Previously, I found that basil inhibited E. coli colony formation on agar plates. He…

Bees: The World's "Atlas" - Solution to the Apis mellifera Decrease, a Sonora State Case Study

Honeybee (Apis mellifera) populations are collapsing worldwide, phenomenon that is called Colony Collapse Disorder. The causes of CCD are not precisely known. The importance of bees lies in…

Behind the Kernels III: An Evaluation of Fungal Endophytes of Maize and their Hypothesized Mitigation of Temperature Stress

Maize is one of the most important crops on earth; however the increased temperature that comes with changing climate puts yields at risk. By the year 2100, maize yields are projected to dec…

Benefits of Three Cover Crops for Corn Based on Cover Crop and Weed Biomass and Corn Yield

This project studies the effects of cover crops when used as companion crops for corn. A cover crop is planted in the same soil: before the main crop is planted, after the main crop is plant…

Beyond the Perceptron: A Computational Geometric Approach to Machine Learning

This project develops a new machine learning algorithm based on computational geometry. The algorithm is able to sort and classify multi-valued inputs, and return a determination of whether…

Bias, Suggestibility, and the Creation of False Memories

Biomedical and Health Sciences

Hypothesis: Post-event suggestion will create a higher rate of false memories than bias. Methods: 185 subjects were randomly assigned to 2 groups, either bias or suggestibility. The bias gro…

B.I.K.E. Helmet: Bicycle Intersection 'Kollision' Eliminator

In 2013, over 48,000 people on bicycles were injured and 743 killed in accidents involving cars in the United States. A significant proportion of these accidents occur at intersections. How…

Bioaerosol Boss: Desquamative and Other Bioaerosols Deactivation Ultra-Violet C Light Irradiation Prototype

Operating rooms flooded with UVC light during surgery in clinical studies conclude UVC light reduces surgical infection rates. Instead of flooding an entire operating room with UVC light—cre…

Biochemical Characterization and Imaging of Arc: Insights into Neurodegeneration and Alzheimer’s Development

Alzheimer’s Disease is is characterized by loss of synapses in the cerebral cortex and accumulation of extracellular Beta-Amyloid Peptides (neuritic plaques). Assemblies of Beta-Amyloid are…

Biodetoxification Spectrum of the Cigarette Beetle Endosymbiont, Symbiotaphrina kochii, on Carcinogens Found in Cigarette Smoke

Symbiotaphrina kochii (S. kochii) is a species of endosymbiotic yeast present in the gut microbiome of the Cigarette Beetle (Lasioderma serricorne). Despite consuming tobacco both pre and po…

Bio-Engineered Concrete: A Sustainable Self-Healing Material

Environmental pollution occurs as landscape mutilation, carbon dioxide emission, and energy consumption due to mass-scale concrete production. Cracked concrete has a reduced strength, reduce…

Bioengineering Functional Kidney Tissue from Human Pluripotent Stem Cells: A Promising New Treatment for Kidney Disease

First Award

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a significant global health problem that affects 10% of the world’s population and costs over $200 billion to treat every year. A new treatment for CKD is des…

Biological Phenomena of Neural Stem Cell Differentiation

Recognizing an insufficiency in therapeutic strategies for repair and regeneration in regard to neurodegenerative diseases, we focus on decreasing current controversial animal model testing…

Biomass to Biofuel: Production Enzymes

The purpose of this experiment was to indicate which enzymes and blends of enzymes extracted the most glucose from switch grass in ethanol production. Results were recorded on a spreadsheet…

Biomass to Biofuel: Using Mushrooms for the Production of Cellulosic Ethanol

Studies have shown that fungi can be very beneficial in the production of biofuels directly from agricultural waste. The purpose of this experiment is to determine if mushrooms can be used t…

Biomimetic Vortex Dredger

Third Award

Introduction: Dredging has stopped in the European Union as of result of the water framework directive (2000), global climate change is on the rise and floods are hitting communities very ha…

Biopsy-Implantable Chemical Sensor for Monitoring and Adjusting Cancer Treatments

In the battle against cancer (which kills nearly 8 million people worldwide each year) doctors use powerful weapons from their arsenal myriads, including various forms of Chemotherapy and Ra…

Black Ice Warning System through Optical Visualization of Road Condition for Unmanned Vehicle

‘Black Ice’ is a road condition that the frozen road surface looks normal. It is very hard to identify the road condition during night driving, which can lead to numerous traffic accidents.…

Black Silicon Inflatable Hybrid Solar Power, a 3rd Year Study

The purpose of this experiment was to create a solar power apparatus with improved efficiency by pairing black silicon solar submerged in circulating water with an inflatable solar concentra…

Blowing Smoke: Differential Effects on Oral Bacteria between Vaping and Cigarette Usage

Electronic cigarettes, or “e-cigarettes” are touted by cardiologists as an alternative to help traditional smokers quit smoking. In particular, e-cigarettes are marketed toward a young audie…

Blown Away: A Study of the Flight Characteristics of Conventional and Canard Wing Configurations

The wing configuration of an airplane affects the airplane’s flight characteristics. The purpose of the experiment was to compare the lift, drag, efficiency, and stall characteristics of a c…

Boosting MFC Biocatalyst Performance: A Novel Gene Identification and Consortia Engineering Approach

First Award

Microbial fuel cells (MFCs) are devices that use bacteria to catalyze the conversion of waste into electricity. Although MFCs are a promising technology for sustainable energy production, fu…

Brace Yourself: A Novel Electronically Aided Leg Orthosis

First Award

Over 6 million individuals in the US alone who lack leg muscle function due to illnesses like multiple sclerosis, spinal injury or poliomyelitis require Knee-Ankle-Foot-Orthoses (KAFOs), dev…

Breakage of SET Nanowires and Determination of the Resistivity Constant for Multilayer Graphene

Third Award

A Single Electron Transistor (SET) is a device which conducts electrical current through a specified pathway and into a particle in order to study its quantum properties. Initial fabrication…

Break Divisors as Canonical Representatives for Divisor Classes on Complete Graphs: Applications to the Internet of Things

Network flow optimality on directed graphs is a central topic in graph theory and combinatorics. Given a complete graph G, we investigate the relationship between the score vectors of specia…