International Science and Engineering Fair

Last updated
International Science and Engineering Fair
CountryUnited States
Website www.societyforscience.org/isef/

The Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF) is an annual science fair in the United States. [1] It is owned and administered by the Society for Science, [2] a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization based in Washington, D.C. [3] Each May, more than 1800 students from roughly 75 countries and territories compete in the fair for scholarships, tuition grants, internships, scientific field trips and the grand prizes, including one $75,000 and two $50,000 college scholarships. All prizes together amount to over $8,000,000. [4] Two major awards ceremonies are the Special Awards Organization Presentation (which now includes the Government Awards Presentations) and the Grand Awards Ceremony. The International Science and Engineering Fair was founded in 1950 by Science Service (now the Society for Science) and was sponsored by Intel from 1997 to 2019. [5] [6] Regeneron Pharmaceuticals became the title sponsor for ISEF in 2020, [7] but the event was cancelled that year and replaced with an online version due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The 2021 ISEF [8] was a fully virtual event while 2022 was held online and in-person in Atlanta, GA, [9] and 2023 was in person in Dallas, TX. The 2024 ISEF will be held in person in Los Angeles, CA. [10]

Contents

Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair logo TW 1024x512-960x480.png
Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair logo

Notable alumni

ISEF alumni include:

Contestants and competition

Contestants are selected from regional, district, and state ISEF affiliated fairs. These fairs usually encompass multiple states or entire regions of a country. The regional fair committee is responsible for managing the fair when their city hosts the event.

Individual science projects and team science projects both compete for prizes. Teams are composed of two to as many as four high school students (grades 9–12). In addition to the judging of projects and an open session for the public to view them, there time is set aside for students to experience the host city with tours and activities. A significant component of the program is social, as students interact with each other during mixers and ceremonies. Throughout much of the week, various seminars are also held for students, mentors and teachers.

Projects and judging are divided into 22 subject categories as follows:

Prizes and honors


ISEF used to hold a "People's Choice Award" to allow the public to vote for its favorite entries. [21]

Since 2001, MIT's Lincoln Laboratory has named asteroids after ISEF winners as part of the Ceres Connection.

Multiple organizations sponsor 'special awards' with their own distinct criteria. These organizations include the National Security Agency, Association for Computing Machinery, IEEE Foundation, and Patent and Trademark Office Society. [22]

Finalist Medal

Finalist of the Regeneron ISEF

Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair Medal Decor.jpg
ISEF finalist medal
Awarded by Society for Science and Regeneron
Typemedal award
Established1950
Countryheld United States but an international competition
Ribbon  blue and   yellow
Motto"Future Forward"
EligibilityParticipate in an affiliated fair and be selected (criteria varies by fair)
StatusISEF
Founder Gordon E. Moore
GradesGeorge Yancopoulos Innovator Award
Regeneron Young Scientist Award
Regeneron ISEF Best of Category Awards
Regeneron ISEF Grand Awards
Regeneron ISEF Special Awards
Regeneron ISEF Experiential Awards
Dudley R. Herschbach SIYSS Award
Regeneron ISEF Gordon E. Moore Award for Positive Outcomes for Future Generations
Regeneron ISEF Craig R. Barrett Award for Innovation
Regeneron ISEF H. Robert Horvitz Prize for Fundamental Research
Regeneron ISEF Peggy Scripps Award for Science Communication
Statistics
First induction1950
Precedence
Next (lower)Varies, depending on rank
Intel ISEF Finalist Medal Ribbon.png
Finalist Medal (gold with blue ribbon)

The Regeneron ISEF Finalist Medal is given to about 1800 students from 75 countries each year, which are participating at the Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair, which is owned and administered by the Society for Science, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization based in Washington, D.C.

Each year about 7 million students participate in different regional, district, and state ISEF affiliated fairs. Some of the winners of these affiliated fairs, which exist in over 75 countries, get the chance to take part at the Regeneron ISEF as a finalist, and each of them is awarded Regeneron ISEF Finalist Medal. In 2013 there were 1611 finalists at the Intel ISEF in Phoenix, Arizona.

The medal has a diameter of 48 mm and is golden galvanized. The obverse shows the official logo of the Regeneron ISEF, the reverse shows the year of participation and the location of that year's Regeneron ISEF.

The ribbon bar is blue with a width of 40 mm and has a golden romanic 1 in the middle.

Top prize winners

When Intel began sponsoring ISEF in 1997, the Grand Awards were replaced with the Intel Foundation Young Scientist Awards, awarded to the top three projects. [5] In 2010, the top award was renamed for Intel co-founder Gordon E. Moore. [23]

ISEF 1997 (Louisville, Kentucky)
ISEF 1998 (Fort Worth, Texas)
ISEF 1999 (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania)
ISEF 2000 (Detroit, Michigan)
ISEF 2001 (San Jose, California)
ISEF 2002 (Louisville, Kentucky)
ISEF 2003 (Cleveland, Ohio)
ISEF 2004 (Portland, Oregon)
ISEF 2005 (Phoenix, Arizona)
ISEF 2006 (Indianapolis, Indiana)
ISEF 2007 (Albuquerque, New Mexico)
ISEF 2008 (Atlanta, Georgia)
ISEF 2009 (Reno, Nevada)
ISEF 2010 (San Jose, California) [35]
ISEF 2011 (Los Angeles, California) [36]
ISEF 2012 (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania) [37]
ISEF 2013 (Phoenix, Arizona) [38]
ISEF 2014 (Los Angeles, California) [39]
ISEF 2015 (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania) [40]
ISEF 2016 (Phoenix, Arizona) [41]
ISEF 2017 (Los Angeles, California) [42]
ISEF 2018 (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania) [43]
ISEF 2019 (Phoenix, Arizona) [44]
ISEF 2020 (Anaheim, California) [45]
ISEF 2021 (VIRTUAL) "Regeneron ISEF 2021". September 13, 2023.
ISEF 2022 (Atlanta, Georgia) "Regeneron ISEF 2022". 13 May 2022.
ISEF 2023 (Dallas, Texas) "Regeneron ISEF 2023". 19 May 2023.

See also

The Society for Science also administers two other science competitions:

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gordon Moore</span> American businessman (1929–2023)

Gordon Earle Moore was an American businessman, engineer, and the co-founder and emeritus chairman of Intel Corporation. He proposed Moore's law which makes the observation that the number of transistors in an integrated circuit (IC) doubles about every two years.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Science fair</span> Competitive event hosted by school

A science fair or engineering fair is an event hosted by a school that offers students the opportunity to experience the practices of science and engineering for themselves. In the United States, the Next Generation Science Standards makes experiencing the practices of science and engineering one of the three pillars of science education. Students perform some sort of research and then present their experiment in a poster session or other display format.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Regeneron Science Talent Search</span> Award

The Regeneron Science Talent Search, known for its first 57 years as the Westinghouse Science Talent Search, and then as the Intel Science Talent Search from 1998 through 2016, is a research-based science competition in the United States for high school seniors. It has been referred to as "the nation's oldest and most prestigious" science competition. In his speech at the dinner honoring the 1991 Winners, President George H. W. Bush called the competition the "Super Bowl of science."

Started in 1962, the Canadian-Wide Science Fair (CWSF) is an annual science fair in Canada coordinated by Youth Science Canada. Finalists qualify from approximately 25,000 competitors at over 100 Youth Science Canada-affiliated regional science fairs in every province and territory, or, in the province of Quebec, the provincial science fair.

The Intel Foundation Achievement Awards are US$5,000 scholarships presented to high school students in recognition of their achievements in the scientific disciplines. Up to 15 are awarded, on selection by a panel of judges, each year at the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">George Yancopoulos</span> American biomedical scientist (born 1959)

George D. Yancopoulos is a Greek-American biomedical scientist who is the co-founder, president and chief scientific officer of Regeneron Pharmaceuticals.

Larry Zhixing Hu was awarded minor planet name 18739 Larryhu during the 2003 Intel International Science and Engineering Fair in Cleveland, Ohio for his grand award-winning computer science team project named "A Liquid-based Thermoelectric Application for Processor Architecture Scalability". The year prior, Larry was a member of the first team to be sent to ISEF from the state of Alabama.

Christopher Jon Olsen is the creator of the Universal wheelchair, the first all-terrain, omnidirectional, stair-climbing wheelchair. He is also the co-founder of NuEra Mobility Inc.

Society for Science, formerly known as Science Service and later Society for Science and the Public, is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization dedicated to the promotion of science, through its science education programs and publications, including the bi-weekly Science News magazine and Science News Explores.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jack Andraka</span> American inventor and cancer researcher (born 1997)

Jack Thomas Andraka is an American who, as a high school student, won the Gordon E. Moore Award at the 2012 Intel International Science and Engineering Fair with a method to possibly detect the early stages of pancreatic and other cancers. In 2018, as a junior majoring in anthropology and in electrical engineering at Stanford University, he was awarded the Truman Scholarship for his graduate studies.

Leonar3Do

Leonar3Do is an integrated software and hardware platform capable of creating a three-dimensional VR environment on desktop computers and other devices, allowing for the creation, manipulation, and analysis of three-dimensional objects in a three-dimensional space. Leonar3Do was originally invented by Daniel Rátai in Budapest, Hungary. Products and applications based on the Leonar3Do platform are developed and marketed by Leonar3Do International Inc.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rakitha Malewana</span> Sri Lankan scientist and youth activist

Rakitha Malewana is a Sri Lankan young scientist and youth activist. He was awarded the Nalanda Puthra award in 2015 from his alma mater Nalanda College, Colombo and received a presidential medal for innovation and social work from the government of Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka. In 2016, he was awarded the prestigious Queen's Young Leaders Award by the Royal Commonwealth Society as an honor to his social work on behalf of the HIV positive community. He is one of the youngest honorees of Forbes 30 under 30 Asia 2017.

Arsh Shah Dilbagi is an Indian scientist, Inventor and Roboticist. He completed his undergraduate at Princeton University studying Operations Research and Financial Engineering. He is the founder of Arido about which very little has been made public.

Nina Vasan is an American psychiatrist and author of the Amazon #1 best-selling book Do Good Well: Your Guide to Leadership, Action and Innovation. She is a Clinical Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Stanford University School of Medicine. She is currently the Founder and Executive Director of Brainstorm: The Stanford Lab for Mental Health Innovation at Stanford University. She won the 2002 Intel International Science and Engineering Fair.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alex Deans</span> Canadian-British inventor

Alexander Deans is a Canadian-British inventor, engineer, and physician. He became Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II's Youth Leader for Canada at Buckingham Palace. At age 12, he created the "iAid", a navigation device for the blind which won the Canada-Wide Science Fair in the intermediate category and several awards at the 2014 Intel International Science and Engineering Fair.

Sentinus is a educational charity based in Lisburn, Northern Ireland that provides educational programs for young people interested in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM).

Shruti Naik is an Indian American scientist who is an associate professor of biological sciences at the NYU Langone Medical Center. In 2020 Naik was named a Packard Fellow for her research into the molecular mechanisms that underpin the function of tissue stem cells. She was awarded the 2018 regional Blavatnik Awards for Young Scientists and the International Takeda Innovator in Regeneration Award. She has also received the NIH Directors Innovator Award and been named a Pew Stewart Scholar in 2020.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fionn Ferreira</span> Irish inventor, student of chemistry

Fionn Miguel Eckardt Ferreira is an Irish inventor, chemistry student and Forbes 30 under 30 listee. He is known for his invention of a method to remove microplastic particles from water using a natural ferrofluid mixture.

Anjali Chadha is an American bioengineer. She is an ambassador for AAAS If/Then. She was named a 2020 Voices Of the Year, by Seventeen magazine.

Eesha Khare is an American inventor and was a Young Scientist Award winner in the 2013 Intel International Science and Engineering Fair. She was named one of Forbes' 30 under 30 scientists.

References

  1. "International Science and Engineering Fair". 6 February 2024.
  2. "About". Society for Science.
  3. "Mission and History". Society for Science. Retrieved May 18, 2014.
  4. "Competitions". Society for Science.
  5. 1 2 Bellinger, Robert (June 9, 1997). "Intel exec decries latest labor trend". Electronic Engineering Times. No. 957. p. 130. ...the company became the key sponsor of the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF), recently held in Louisville, Ky.
  6. Lohr, Steve (February 14, 2017). "Intel Drops Its Sponsorship of Science Fairs, Prompting an Identity Crisis". The New York Times.
  7. Jackson, Jon (December 12, 2019). "Regeneron Announces Opening of DNA Learning Center with Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory and Becoming Sponsor of World's Biggest Science Fair". River Journal.
  8. "Regeneron ISEF 2021".
  9. "Regeneron ISEF 2022".
  10. "Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair". 6 February 2024.
  11. 1 2 3 4 "Society Alumni Honors". Society for Science. Retrieved January 10, 2019.
  12. "The Nobel Prize in Physics 2022". The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences (Press release). October 4, 2022.
  13. "Conversations with Maya: Kristina Johnson". Society for Science. June 28, 2018. Archived from the original on May 2, 2019. Retrieved January 10, 2019.
  14. "This MacArthur Fellow researches how bacteria shaped the Earth". Society for Science and the Public.
  15. "Feng Zhang becomes Society Board Member". Society for Science and the Public. September 28, 2017.
  16. "Lester Mackey". MacArthur Foundation. 2023.
  17. "Conversations with Maya: Lester Mackey | Science News". 9 October 2019.
  18. King, Georgia Frances (December 1, 2018). "Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez won a prestigious science-fair prize for research involving free radicals". Quartz.
  19. "Alex Deans". Windsor Public Library. Retrieved January 10, 2019.
  20. "A material difference". MIT News | Massachusetts Institute of Technology. 2021-07-25. Retrieved 2023-08-24.
  21. "Intel ISEF People's Choice Awards". Intel ISEF. Archived from the original on July 13, 2009. Retrieved July 12, 2009.
  22. "ISEF Special Awards Organizations".
  23. "Texas Teen Wins Top Honors at Intel International Science and Engineering Fair, World's Largest Pre-College Science Competition". Intel. May 14, 2010.
  24. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 "Intel Foundation Young Scientist Awards". Science Service. Archived from the original on September 23, 2006. Retrieved January 25, 2020.
  25. "Over $2 Million in Scholarships and Grants Awarded at 1998 Intel International Science and Engineering Fair". Intel.
  26. "Intel International Science And Engineering Fair Awards $3 Million In Scholarships And Prizes To Young Scientists And Inventors From Around The World". Intel. May 11, 2001.
  27. "Young Scientists From Around The World Receive Total Of $3 Million In Scholarships And Prizes". Intel. May 17, 2002.
  28. "Young Scientists From Around The World Receive Total Of $3 Million In Scholarships And Prizes". Intel. May 16, 2003.
  29. "Next Generation Of Brilliant Thinkers Awarded $3 Million In Scholarships And Prizes". Intel. May 14, 2004.
  30. "Photos from Intel ISEF 2005". Intel. May 13, 2005.
  31. "Top Young Scientists From Around The World Awarded $4 Million In Scholarships". Intel. May 12, 2006.
  32. "Intel Announces Winners of World's Largest Science Fair". Intel. May 18, 2007.
  33. "Intel Announces Winners of World's Largest Pre-College Science Fair". Intel. May 16, 2008.
  34. "Three Young Women Win Top Honors at World's Largest Pre-College Science Competition". Intel. May 15, 2009.
  35. "Texas Teen Wins Top Honors at Intel International Science and Engineering Fair, World's Largest Pre-College Science Competition". Intel. May 14, 2010.
  36. "Intel ISEF 2011". Society for Science. September 13, 2023.
  37. "Intel ISEF 2012". Society for Science. September 13, 2023.
  38. "Intel ISEF 2013". Society for Science. September 13, 2023.
  39. "Intel ISEF 2014". Society for Science. September 13, 2023.
  40. "Intel ISEF 2015". Society for Science. September 13, 2023.
  41. "Intel ISEF 2015". Society for Science. September 13, 2023.
  42. "Intel ISEF 2017". Society for Science. September 13, 2023.
  43. "Intel ISEF 2018". Society for Science. September 13, 2023.
  44. "Intel ISEF 2019". Society for Science. September 13, 2023.
  45. "Regeneron ISEF 2020". Society for Science. September 13, 2023.
  46. KAUFFMAN, BRENNEN (15 May 2020). "Local students ready for online global science fair". Post Register. Retrieved May 19, 2020.
  47. "Intel Science Talent Search". Society for Science. Retrieved November 19, 2009.
  48. "Thermo Fisher Scientific and Society for Science Launch Junior Innovators Challenge to Inspire More Than 65,000 Future STEM Leaders Nationwide". Society for Science. Retrieved 8 April 2023.
  49. "Broadcom MASTERS". Society for Science. Retrieved December 17, 2019.