Guides · ISEF category
Energy: Sustainable Materials and Design
ISEF category ENGS · difficulty for high-school students: high
Research into renewable energy, energy storage, sustainable materials, energy efficiency, and the intersection of materials science with energy applications.
How it's judged
ISEF scores 100 points across five criteria:
- Creative Ability: 30 pts
- Scientific Thought: 30 pts
- Thoroughness: 15 pts
- Skill: 15 pts
- Clarity: 10 pts
What wins
- Novel perovskite solar cell compositions with efficiency + stability testing
- Bioinspired materials for thermal regulation or light management
- Electrochemical characterization of novel battery electrode materials
- Thermoelectric materials characterization for waste heat recovery
Common mistakes
- Building a small solar panel and measuring voltage — this is a demonstration, not research
- Not reporting efficiency metrics standardized to input power
- Comparing to commercial solar efficiency without measuring under same conditions
What you'll need
Solar simulator or natural sunlight measurement, electrochemical workstation (potentiostat), materials characterization (XRD, SEM ideally at university).
Ethics & approvals
Human-subjects (IRB) approval is usually not required for this category. Vertebrate-animal (IACUC) approval is usually not required.
The novelty bar
A new material composition, a new fabrication technique, or a novel performance optimization approach. Testing existing commercial solar panels in different conditions is not competitive.
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