05/16/2025
We're excited to announce the winners of the 2025 Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair ( )!
Adam Kovalčík, of Dulovce, Slovakia, won first place and received the $100,000 George D. Yancopoulos Innovator Award for his new way of making the investigational antiviral drug galidesivir. Early clinical trials have shown this drug to be safe in humans. Animal tests show it may be effective against a broad spectrum of viruses. But it is expensive to produce. By starting with cheap materials from corn husk waste, he designed a shorter, more efficient way of making galidesivir. He cut the process from 15 to 10 steps and made almost twice as much drug in less time. He then used these reactions to create a new antiviral drug that may work even better. His new way to make these medicines can greatly decrease their cost, from $75/gram to about $12.50/gram. By making these medicines easier to produce, they are also easier to study, and if approved, more accessible, giving us more options to treat viral infections.
Benjamin Davis, of Wrentham, Massachusetts, received the $75,000 Regeneron Young Scientist Award for creating a desktop plastic recycling system. The user-friendly system can recycle 3D printer waste and other plastics. It turns them into filaments for 3D printing. Up to 67% of the filament used in a typical 3D printing project may end up as waste. Using electrical, mechanical and chemical engineering methods, Benjamin combined pultrusion (push-through) and extrusion (pull-through) processes. Together, this made the process about 45% more efficient. His device is faster than other home recyclers and creates a higher quality product. Its easy operation means nontechnical users can recycle and 3D print more efficiently. His design is an effective recycling machine that costs 90% less than commercial options.
Siyaa Poddar of Chandler, Arizona, received the $75,000 Regeneron Young Scientist Award for her device, which rapidly detects toxic dusts. In the U.S. Southwest, toxic silica and uranium dusts from abandoned mines are a public health challenge. They contaminate the soil, air and groundwater, and can trigger autoimmune diseases like Sjögren’s syndrome. Rates of Sjögren’s syndrome are disproportionately high on Indigenous reservations in the Southwest, where many abandoned mines remain. Currently, there's no easy, fast or affordable way to measure how much of these toxins are in the air. Siyaa designed two low-cost detectors using chemicals that easily react with uranium or silica by changing color. She trapped these chemicals in a framework made of metal atoms and organic molecules to stabilize them. Her system is an affordable, easy-to-use way to monitor air quality.
Congratulations to these young scientists!
