by Michael J. Foy

Greetings! I’ve returned from Pittsburgh! After nine great but completely exhausting days volunteering for the International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF), it’s nice to be home. This year marked my seventh fair. I can’t believe how quickly the time has gone!

This year, an estimated $4 million (US) was awarded to the record 1,700 participating high school students. The fair is funded by both Intel and the Intel Foundation with additional awards and support from dozens of other corporate, academic, governmental and science-focused organizations.

This years three big winners included Nicole Ticea and Raymond Wang of Vancouver, Canada and Karan Jerath of Friendswood, Texas! So what do the winners of the INTEL ISEF actually do to earn the top spot?

Well, this years top winner, Raymond Wang (17), received $75,000 and took home the Gordon E. Moore award, ISEF’s top prize. His project used sophisticated software to study the rerouting of airflow in aircraft cabins, which could help to reduce the transmission of diseases.

Nicole Ticea (16) developed a low-cost technique, testing small amounts of blood to reveal early signs of infection from HIV. It’s a process that can aid in early detection and treatment, with test results available in roughly an hour.

Karan Jerath (18) invented a device that can collect oil and gas spewing from broken wells on the seafloor, helping to better contain undersea spills. The device itself weighs 350 tons, loaded with sensors to measure temperature, pressure and density of gases and fluids coming from a leak. It can then calculate what needs to be adjusted so that the gas and oil can be collected efficiently.

The second and third place winners received $50,000 each. Beyond just the top three winners, nineteen other students were offered college scholarships, (from Drexel University, Florida Institute of Technology and West Virginia University to name a few) with a value of up to $150,000 (US)!

I can not believe I have had the privilege to be apart of this immensely important fair for the last seven years. Between the exciting cities I’ve had a chance to visit and the incredible people I’ve gotten to meet and work with from across the globe, the INTEL ISEF has left a profound impact on my life. I can not even begin to thank the fantastic people at Society for Science and the Public for not only putting on the fair and inviting me to be a part of it year after year, but most importantly for their friendship. I know full well by now how much work is involved (I walked 25 miles in the first two days alone inside the convention center) but knowing that I get to work with such fun and dedicated people has kept me, and continues to keep me hooked.

Although my feet hurt already at the thought, I can not wait to do it all over again in Phoenix next year! A HUGE thank you to every volunteer, to the people at SSP, my ISEF friends, and to all the students for being bold enough to dream something up and create it.

You can learn more about the INTEL ISEF HERE!: https://www.societyforscience.org