Wondering what kinds of projects tend to win science fairs, or looking for an idea for your next entry? Science fairs are a platform to pursue real research and share your findings, from advanced technology to new solutions for global problems.
Winning projects span many disciplines, and the best ones combine a deep grasp of the science with a practical solution. Here are a few past winners to spark your own ideas.
About the science fair
The International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF) is the largest pre-college science competition, drawing thousands of the world’s top young scientists from over 80 countries. Finalists present advanced research across disciplines and compete for scholarships, internships, and grand awards.
Getting to ISEF is a long road that starts at local and regional fairs. Because qualifying is so hard, it carries real weight on an application: it shows you’re among the best in the world for your research. ISEF is the largest and most competitive fair, but it isn’t the only one worth entering.
Past projects
Synthetic DNA Engineering With ICOR
Rishab Jain‘s project is in synthetic biology, improving protein production in E. coli, which matters for vaccine development. The core is codon optimization: choosing the DNA sequences that best enhance protein synthesis. Traditional methods often ignore cellular dynamics, leading to inefficiencies. Jain built ICOR, a tool using a recurrent neural network (RNN) with a bidirectional long short-term memory (LSTM) architecture, trained on high-expression E. coli genes. It optimizes DNA sequences in a way that aligns more closely with the cellular environment, improving protein production. Tested against standard methods, ICOR showed significant gains in expression efficiency, with broad implications for biotechnology and vaccine development.
Materials and requirements: coding knowledge, computational resources (a high-performance system for large datasets), software for implementing the models, comprehensive genomic datasets, and statistical/data analysis software.
Getting started: build a foundation in bioinformatics and machine learning, then get the computational tools and genomic data you need. Write a project plan with stages for model training, testing, and validation, refine the model based on results, and prepare to document and present your findings.
Award: Regeneron Young Scientist Award (top 3, $50,000) at ISEF 2022.
Neurobiology of Suicide: Claudin-5 Is a Biomarker
Natasha Kulviwat‘s study looks for biological markers of suicide by examining the breakdown of claudin-5, a key component of the blood-brain barrier (BBB), in human postmortem brain tissue. She measured claudin-5 along with the cytokines IL-6 and IL-8, which were elevated in individuals who had died by suicide, suggesting a link between BBB disruption and suicide. The study also analyzed stressful life events, claudin-5’s localization in the brain, and gene expression related to neuroinflammation and neurodegeneration, and used molecular docking to see how current medications interact with claudin-5 and related proteins. The findings point to claudin-5 as a possible biomarker for suicide risk and to new directions for treatment.
Materials and requirements: brain tissue samples, lab equipment and reagents, bioinformatics and data analysis software, psychological assessment tools, and statistical software.
Getting started: secure the right biological samples and the necessary ethical approvals, then get access to a suitable lab (find a mentor) with the equipment and reagents for your analyses, plus reliable data analysis software. Write a research plan detailing your procedures and analysis methods, and make sure they line up with your study’s goals.
Award: Gordon E. Moore Award ($50,000) at ISEF 2023.
“Every forty seconds, suicide steals a life, yet no biomarkers exist for suicide.” Natasha Kulviwat
That line is a good example of how a strong opening can frame your project as a story.
The Inchworm Robot with Skateboard
Yuyang Wang‘s project builds bionic robots inspired by how caterpillars and inchworms move, designed to navigate risky environments like power grids and cable systems. Across four generations, the robots evolved from basic wire-pulling and friction control to designs that handle bending navigation, obstacle avoidance, and traversing multiple pipes at once. The latest model switches between grabbing and wheel modes and can maneuver on sticks of varying diameters, with applications in grid maintenance and breakage detection.
Materials and requirements: coding knowledge, high-torque servo motors for precise movement, microcontrollers and signal processing units, sensors, adjustable grabber mechanisms, omni-directional wheels, a software environment for coding and testing, and a range of sticks and pipes.
Getting started: learn the basics of robotics and biomimicry, then plan your robot design. Get the materials (servo motors, sensors, microcontrollers) and build basic prototypes focused on wire pulling and friction control, then iterate, adding features like obstacle avoidance as you go.
Award: Craig R. Barrett Award for Innovation ($10,000) at ISEF 2023.
One important note
Don’t copy a past project. The point of research is to make original contributions, so use these as starting points for your own brainstorming. Find a problem you care about, bring real drive to it, and your chances of winning go up.
More resources
Take a look at Rishab’s STEM student guide, free to anyone, with a lot of information to help you build an effective science fair project plus other competitions and research programs. His YouTube playlist also walks through how to do research.
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