All photos are credited to Intel ISEF Org.

Who enters the Intel ISEF?

Students in grades 9-12 or equivalent must compete in an Intel ISEF affiliated
science fairs around the world AND win the right to attend the Intel ISEF. Each
affiliated fair may send a pre-determined number of projects to the Intel ISEF (as
factored by participation and high school population) to compete in 22 different
categories.

What is the timeline for Intel ISEF and when should I start my research?
Students may present work for their project which includes no more than 12
months of continuous research and may not include research performed over 18
months from the time of the Intel ISEF Fair in which they will be
competing. Local, regional, and state affiliated fairs take place throughout the
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year, but all will be completed by early April.
 What is an Intel ISEF affiliated science fair?
 A Society-affiliated science fair is a research-based, high school
competition that is a member of the Intel ISEF network. These
competitions exist in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and more
than 75 countries, regions, and territories.

 To affiliate, science fairs agree to follow basic guidelines for fair

operations and Intel ISEF rules governing student research, but are
ultimately responsible for their own management. Fairs are
conducted at local, regional, state and national levels.
How do I find an Affiliated Fair in my state or country?
Fairs are conducted at local, regional, state and national
levels.

What if my state or country does not have an Affiliated Fair?

This is where you can be an advocate for science! Contact your local
school officials and make them aware about the Intel ISEF. If you gain
interest within your school district, and they are interested in affiliating,
they may find more information about New Affiliations.
•The fair must serve a geographic territory that is not covered by another affiliate
fair, except in cases of state or national fairs.

•The fair must operate under the Intel ISEF Rules and Guidelines and ensure that
students and teachers are aware of these requirements as they begin research
projects. New fairs should have at least one year's experience with these Rules.

•The Fair Director agrees to hold the Affiliated Fair by the given deadline in early
April.

Fairs will be granted affiliation status based on meeting these requirements, as

well as the overall benefit the fair offers to the students and schools in the
proposed territory.
 Students cannot represent themselves at the Intel ISEF because this
competition is a closed event.
 Finalists that make it to the Intel ISEF have gone through many levels of
competition.
 However, students can generally start at a local school science fair and then
progress on to the upper levels of competition, in which the Intel ISEF affiliated
fair may be the last tier of competition.
 We also want to make sure that all students who compete at Intel ISEF have
unique ideas and inventions and follow our guidelines for safe and appropriate
research; both of which are checked through participation in affiliated fairs.
 Each Affiliated Fair has an established Scientific Review Committee
(SRC) to answer your inquiries before experimentation. Additionally,
the Intel ISEF SRC is available year round to answer any rules
inquiries.

 Questions about the International Rules, especially pertaining to the

use of Vertebrates, Human Subjects, or Potentially Hazardous
Biological Agents can be addressed to the Intel ISEF SRC directly
at
What are the most common reasons a project
would fail to qualify?

1. Human, vertebrate animal, or PHBA studies that did not have

preapproval
2. Prohibited Vertebrate Animal Studies
3. Prohibited Studies using Potentially Hazardous Biological Agents
(PHBA's)
4. Prohibited Human Participant Studies
5. Eligibility Problems
6. Scientific Misconduct
7. Other problems that may result in an FTQ
1. Human, vertebrate animal, or PHBA studies
that did not have preapproval
•Need IRB preapproval for human participant studies
•Need SRC or IACUC preapproval for vertebrate animal studies
•Need SRC or IBC preapproval for PHBA studies
2. Prohibited Vertebrate Animal Studies

•Studies done at home/school/field that should have been done at a regulated

research institution
•Studies that caused more than momentary pain or suffering or that were
designed to kill
•Induced toxicity studies
•Predator/vertebrate prey experiments
•Studies where student performed euthanasia on a vertebrate animal
•Studies with an animal death in any group or subgroup due to the
experimental procedures
•Studies where animals have a weight loss greater than or equal to 15%
•Studies where there was an inappropriate restriction of water or food
•Studies treated as embryonic studies that were actually vertebrate studies
3. Prohibited Studies using Potentially Hazardous Biological Agents
(PHBA's)
•Microorganisms were cultured at home
•BSL-2 studies (including opening plates or containers of unknown
microorganisms) done in a BSL-1 lab
•Studies using human and other primate established cell lines without SRC
pre-review and approval

4. Prohibited Human Participant Studies

•Studies where the IRB required written documentation of consents which
were not obtained
•Studies where the student used surveys/questionnaires without IRB pre-
review and approval
5. Eligibility Problems
•Student worked with a partner or team but competed as an individual, or vice
versa
•Project was more than 1 year in length or was too old
•More than three students on a team

6. Scientific Misconduct
•Plagiarism
•Student presented mentor’s research as his/her own
•Falsification of data

7. Other problems that may result in “Fail To Qualify”

•Continuation study which was merely a repeat of a previous
project conducted by the student
•Student removed or added items to the project display which
he/she had been previously told to change
More than 600 individual and team awards are presented every year at the
Intel ISEF. Each entry is judged at least four times with category awards given
in first, second, third and fourth place. Awards are $3,000, $1,500, $1,000 and
$500 respectively in each of the 22 categories.

The top winner of the Intel ISEF receives the Gordon Moore Award, and
$75,000, with the next top two winners each receiving a $50,000 award.
Additional awards worth approximately $4 million are provided through the
Intel ISEF Special Awards program, and include tuition scholarships, summer
internships, scientific field trips, and laboratory equipment. They are provided
by Intel and about 70 other corporate, professional, and government sponsors
annually.
Each year about 1,000 science, engineering, and industry professionals
serve as judges for the Intel ISEF. All judges have a Ph.D. or equivalent
degree and/or six years of relevant experience. Judges volunteer their time
and pay their own travel and accommodation expenses.

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 Society for Science & the Public (Society) is a non-profit organization
based in Washington, DC.

 The Society has managed the International Science and Engineering

Fair for more than 6 decades, including the application process, judging,
recruitment of volunteers to contribute over 2,000+ hours of work, a
week of activities for our domestic and international finalists, processing
awards, and keeping in touch with alumni.

 The Society works actively with Intel Corporation, who has been a
generous title sponsor for the program since 1997.
PINOY STUDENTS BRING HOME PRIZES FROM THE INTEL
ISEF 2018 IN US
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Joscel Kent Manzanero, Keith Russel Cadores, and Eugene
Rivera of Camarines Sur National High School bagged the
Second Award of $1,500 in the “Energy: Physical”
category for their design and development of Solar-
Tracking Arduino-Rooted PV Panels.

Elaine Nicole Saquin and Randy Molejona Jr. of Iloilo National

High School (INHS) won Third Award of $1,000 in the “Earth
and Environmental Sciences” category for their research on
Biosorption of Manganese Mine Effluents Using Crude Chitin
from Shell Wastes of Philippine Bivalves.

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Leann Patrice Ganzon and Anne Nicole Occena of INHS who
submitted their study on Garcinia binucao Fruit and Leaf:
Phytochemicals-Mediated Antioxidant, Alpha-Amylase and
Alpha-Glucosidase Enzyme Inhibitors

Adrian Maglasang of City of Bogo Science and Arts Academy in

Cebu who conducted a research on the Propulsion Performance
Evaluation of a Lego-Based Carangiform Mechanism for a
Prototype Robotic Fish Unmanned Underwater Vehicle

Roehann Mykael Zabat of Juan R. Liwag Memorial School in Nueva

Ecija who analyzed the Reducing Dopaminergic Neurodegeneration
and Motor Dysfunction Using Crude Ethanolic Bamboo (Bambusa
vulgaris) Leaf Extract on a Transgenic Caenorhabditis elegans Model
of Parkinson’s Disease.
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