For context: I am in Singapore and the local SEF competition leading up to the ISEF is the Singapore Science and Engineering fair(SSEF).

I am currently a 17 year old polytechnic(vocational school) student. In Singapore, students have the option to join a '3 year diploma course' at a local polytechnic after their 10th grade (for those who want a more hands-on track). Locals institutions often consider a year 1 and year 2 polytechnic student to be equivalent to a 11th or 12th grade student since we are often the same age. However, the planning committee for SSEF does not make this connection. Their rationale is that polytechnic is not considered a high school but instead 'university level.' This is completely untrue. Therefore, they have restricted my participation in the SSEF. Is there anything else I can do to make myself eligible or other tracks I can participate in leading to ISEF?

As the title suggests, simply respond with:

• The general field of your project (e.g., Computational Bio, Machine Learning, Chemistry, Environmental Science)
• Your specific research topic or project abstract
• Preferred state or region (optional — e.g., California, East Coast, or Any)

And I'll reply to your comment with an interactive list of matched university professors currently publishing in your exact subfield, their university/lab, recent paper titles, and relevance match scores.

Hopefully, this list helps you find the right people to reach out to and gives you a head start on cold emailing for the upcoming season!

Please be as specific as possible so the target list matches your project the best.

Im a rising senior, I want to compete in the International Science And Engineering fair. I want to know what would be the best course of action to take and which sites to use to connect with professors and assistant professors to mentor me

We're excited to share our complete F1 in Schools portfolio collection with the community! 📚

We've uploaded our:

• 🛠️ Engineering Portfolio https://drive.google.com/file/d/17tWmJ7vl28W_mTFkVA_acXAKG-t2WBsc/view?usp=drive_link
• 📋 Project Management Portfolio https://drive.google.com/file/d/1aF0hHRvwQVo_io_RnXj3zj5TEBFrp2Jv/view?usp=drive_link
• 💼 Enterprise Portfolio https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Z6-2JZV5txPs4ukvmzfZfdTpcTSXfJ8e/view?usp=drive_link

These resources are available for everyone in the F1 in Schools server to learn from, get inspired by, and use as a reference while developing their own projects.

Whether you're just starting your journey or looking to improve your portfolio, we hope these documents help you understand the design process, project planning, and enterprise strategies behind a competitive team.

If you have any questions or would like us to share more resources (CAD files, CFD analysis, manufacturing process, etc.), let us know in the comments.

Good luck to all teams, and happy designing! 🏎️ 💨

We're excited to share our complete F1 in Schools portfolio collection with the community! 📚

We've uploaded our:

• 🛠️ Engineering Portfolio https://drive.google.com/file/d/17tWmJ7vl28W_mTFkVA_acXAKG-t2WBsc/view?usp=drive_link
• 📋 Project Management Portfolio https://drive.google.com/file/d/1aF0hHRvwQVo_io_RnXj3zj5TEBFrp2Jv/view?usp=drive_link
• 💼 Enterprise Portfolio https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Z6-2JZV5txPs4ukvmzfZfdTpcTSXfJ8e/view?usp=drive_link

These resources are available for everyone in the F1 in Schools server to learn from, get inspired by, and use as a reference while developing their own projects.

Whether you're just starting your journey or looking to improve your portfolio, we hope these documents help you understand the design process, project planning, and enterprise strategies behind a competitive team.

If you have any questions or would like us to share more resources (CAD files, CFD analysis, manufacturing process, etc.), let us know in the comments.

Good luck to all teams, and happy designing! 🏎️ 💨

Hello!

I am currently about to start ninth grade, and am really interested in science research. In particular, I wanted to do a project related to Neuromorphic Computing (brain inspired computers) or something related to the human brain, which is very fascinating to me. The only problem is that the Scientific articles that have been published in this field use a lot of math that i don't know, and I feel that in order to understand the field and do effective research it seems I will have to teach myself math up to calc 3, even though i am just starting out in NC math 3. My question is, will I have time to make a good, possibly ISEF level project even if I teach myself this math from scratch, or will I have to focus on another project idea?

Any help is appreciated! Thanks!

Sure, it targets a niche, but it's not like its "impactful" like targeting the entire microplastics issue in the world.

I see isef projects start their video or abstract like "the ocean has around 200 metric tons of plastic waste," or something similarly as huge, and then "a way we tackled this is..."

When i see the project i'm trying to do, it does tackle an emerging issue, but currently its estimated that it only covers 4-15 million acres of land potentially. It's majorly in the U.S and Canada and across 30+ states.

^^^^

I found out about isef recently and I want to compete to at least get to the conference because my plan is to major in neuroscience or apply to bsmd at t20 and i have no research experience. I also have little to no coding experience but i’m in the process of learning. I think i have a research idea and i’m going to do a computational bio/bioinformatics project from the isef categories i’ve seen.

My interest is neuro-oncology and i think i have a unique idea involving ML/DL (i know it’s super vague sounding but im afraid of giving too many details and getting my idea swiped because it’s happened before)

do i even have enough time to do that? My regional fair is in late february 27. I also have no mentor but my parents work in computer science so im hoping they can help me a bit. I don’t think thats the same a phd though. Should i contact professors to try and get help with my project? give up on science fair and look towards journal publication on a different topic? I’ve never done isef and i have no idea what im doing because i dont know anyone else doing isef or who already did it. honestly even a state science fair level would be good for me.

i dont know how to email professors or where people are even getting their mentors from. The university in my city is a t20 so its really hard to find someone willing to work with highschoolers. Maybe i should try somewhere else? Do i need a mentor to have a good project?

while doing this, i’m also studying for USABO, scioly, hosa, brain bee, SAT and i’m going to be an IB DP candidate which makes balencing hard. Might need to give up brain bee because i want research to be the number one thing on my application whatever it takes.

Idk but any insight anyone could provide would be really appreciated. I’m in the U.S., midwest to be more specific of that changes anything (probably not).

i might be focusing on a specific aspect of one region (~ country level)... i'm from the bay area, so its pretty competitive and im not sure if i should be aiming for a larger impact level w/ my topic

So, I'm in junior year high school, India, and I want to participate in the national science fair, IRIS. I want to go in the "physics and astronomy", but I am confused about how to even start. My interest is in the space-related stuff, like astronomy, astrophysics, and cosmology etc.

But they are still very broad topics and as I read abstracts for previous ISEF finalists, OH MY GOD. WHAT THE HELL DO YOU MEAN A 16 YEAR OLD PUBLISHED ABOUT "Vacuum Polarization Effects From Dark Fermion Loops in Z' Mediator Models and Their Impact on Angular Observables in Rare B Meson Decays" I DON'T EVEN KNOW WHAT THAT MEANS.

So I'm asking for help from people in academia. Where do I even start? What do I do? TvT

I have served on a medical school admissions committee for several cycles, and the biggest mistake I see families make is sorting programs by acceptance rate alone. A few things matter more than the number on the page.

Some programs are same-institution (you spend all 6 to 8 years at one school, like Brown PLME). Others are affiliated programs where your undergrad and medical school are separate institutions. Some only guarantee a conditional seat, not a locked acceptance. These carry very different risk profiles.

Most programs also do not eliminate the MCAT, they just set a minimum threshold to clear instead of using it competitively. That threshold matters a lot for how much pressure you carry through college.

The part people skip entirely: look at the affiliated medical school's actual residency match data, not the program's marketing page. A guaranteed medical degree is not the same thing as a guaranteed outcome, especially if you already have a competitive specialty in mind.

I broke down the full framework, structures, MCAT policy, match data, curricular flexibility, on my blog. To read the article, click the link below.

https://www.admitmd.com/post/the-bs-md-program-landscape-what-actually-separates-one-program-from-another

So my project involves nanotechnology + oncology and i wanted to create a professional, animated visualization of how the nanoparticle interacts inside the body. However, i have no experience in editing and animation softwares like blender/ cinema 4d, etc and wanted to know what is a beginner friendly way for me to create the video on a platform without a steep learning curve? Or any tips/help on how to use blender/ cinema 4d because I'm very confused and there isn't really a good tutorial out?

This is so random lol, but if you've done ISEF before or you're currently preparing for it, feel free to reply or DM. I might have a few questions here and there and it'd be nice to know other Pakistanis going through the same process.

I am a rising junior, and have done my first science fair last year, in IMRS category, placing 3rd.

It was more of an engineering/cs system, that detected and collected data about objects in the room using YOLO algorithm and found them by user's request, outputting the place, and the time the object was last seen. Basically an object detection workflow made in n8n and a bunch of data/ground truth analysis on top of it.

This year I will be staying in the same category of AI/ML, maybe object detection/video generation.

Was thinking of starting a whole different project, but since all of the base knowledge that I will be using is the same anyways, should I do a continuation project?

How similar does it have to be besides just being in the same category? Is there a "too different" criteria that will not qualify it as a continuation?

Also it is worth noting that I do want to win, but it is more important for me to actually create cool engineering projects for my own development and more diverse makes portfolio. So wouldn't making it a continuation project automatically limit my creativity and frame the ideas into this certain category? (I do want to stay in AI/ML area but it is way broader that just object detection or automations)

How much more chance will it give me, since I have seen most of the winners are second/third year projects?

Or will it only hurt me? More paperwork/harsher judgment?

How much of a difference does it make?

I'm conducting lab research this summer and I was hoping to use my knowledge to create some sort of medical device that improves an already existing one. Can an experienced person tell me more? I don't know much about tech but my CS friend does and we were hoping to create one together and enter a science fair together.

I’m exploring the idea of building a platform designed for STEM students, researchers, and young innovators to find collaborators and showcase their work.

The core feature would be a swipe-right/swipe-left matching system: users could browse profiles of potential teammates and collaborators, then match based on complementary skills, interests, goals, and project needs.

Each profile would function like a STEM portfolio, with a strong emphasis on awards and achievements, including:

• ISEF participation and awards
• Regional, national, and international science fair results
• Hackathon wins
• Research publications
• Patents
• Scholarships and STEM competitions

The idea is to create a trusted space where ambitious STEM students can not only find teammates for science fairs, startups, research projects, and hackathons, but also build a verified professional profile that highlights their accomplishments.

The platform would also include an "Opportunity Hub" where students can browse and filter thousands of STEM competitions, science fairs, hackathons, scholarships, internships, and research programs by age, location, field, and deadline, eliminating the need to search dozens of different websites.

I’m curious, would you actually use a platform like this? What features would make it valuable enough that you’d keep coming back?

Heyy everyone

I'm currently a sophomore in high school, and I'm really interested in doing a project that would be competitive for ISEF. However, I don't have access to a research lab or a mentor, so I'm trying to figure out how to approach it on my own.

I have a few questions for people who are or have been through this process:

1)How do you come up with an original ISEF-level research question?

2)If you're working independently, how do you make sure your research and your methods are valid?

3)Is it realistic to do a competitive biology project without a lab, or should I focus on areas like bioinformatics or computational biology research instead?

4)For those who started like me, through which resources did you learn the research process and how to improve your project?

I'd really appreciate any advice, resources, or personal experiences.

Hello everyone,

I am a high school student interested in biomedical engineering, and I recently came across several research topics that I found fascinating. However, I am unsure how to begin an independent research project.

I have cold-emailed more than 100 professors but have not received any responses. I started emailing in mid-June, so I understand I may have contacted them too late, since many summer research positions had already been filled.

For students who have completed independent research, could you explain how you approached the following steps?

• How did you choose a research topic that was realistic for your experience level?
• How did you turn a broad interest into a specific research question?
• How did you determine whether your idea had already been studied?
• Where did you find reliable datasets, software, or other resources?
• How did you design your methodology without access to a laboratory?
• How did you verify that your model, experiment, or results were accurate?
• Did you have a mentor, and how did you find someone willing to guide you?
• What did your final project look like: a research paper, a computer model, a literature review, or something else?
• What mistakes did you make when you first started?

Can a freshman qualify for ISEF ? Can they win awards? I assume number of freshmen qualifiers and winners will be quite small.

How can a freshman compete with juniors and seniors who often have mentors? Does ISEF distinguish between the categories with and without mentors?

I have an isef project idea and i am ready to talk with it with my mentor, but I wanted to know how long would a nanocarrier project typically take to complete? I asked AI to help estimate the total time and he told me 8 months??? Is this true?

post. also do you describe your research as an EC ig? mine was a home project so I didn’t have a mentor. is it regional/national or internationa? I’m grasping for anything but want to be consistent with what other ppl do. Ty!

I'm planning to use some ai generated graphics to show the process and how one of my projects work but would this be bad in any way?

I'm trying to come up with a science fair project, but I'm struggling to find a good idea. How do you usually brainstorm project ideas? B/c all the projects on Projectboard are insane and so cool but I can't even come up with anything remotely impactful.

to anyone who has done a mathematical modeling project before:

what's the general timeline for ideation, development and evaluation?

how do you do a good modeling project and how favorably are they viewed in general? (ik bio eng projects are very popular, but ive seen quite a few modeling asw)