Romanian students awarded at International Science and Engineering Fair in Los Angeles

Three students from Romania were awarded at the International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF), the most important and prestigious science and engineering competition in the world for those under 21 years old.

Filip Bușcu, David Ghiberdic, and Rareș Marinescu, students at the International Computer Science High School in Bucharest, won a prize in the category of Engineering Technology: Statics and Dynamics. They invented and built an airplane wing capable of increasing aircraft maneuverability, reducing fuel consumption by up to 5%, and inducing invisibility properties.

Their project, titled Hawk Wing, was examined over three days by nine committees consisting of representatives from major American universities, top technology companies, and even the US Army. The final phase of the competition took place in Los Angeles, USA.

Regeneron ISEF is considered to be the most prestigious STEM competition in the world, far ahead of international science Olympiads, and this is the first time Romania has reached the podium.

Each year, thousands of participants from dozens of countries attempt to win a prize that usually grants access to universities in the USA and the UK. This year, over 1800 students from 76 countries competed.

"We only had a month to build the prototype, fly it, and collect some of the data that confirmed our theory," said Filip Bușcu, cited by Agerpres. "We built it three times because we crashed it twice, but it seems that our determination to fight until the last moment impressed the examiners," he added.

The Romanian students had sponsors, the most important being Hidroelectrica. "It is amazing what these kids can do, how they can push technology to skip stages and achieve immediately applicable results. For us, it was an opportunity and an honor to financially support a team that has brought Romanian performance to the big league of science," said Karoly Borbely, CEO of Hidroelectrica.

The project was also supported by KPMG, Banca Transilvania, and the Magdalena and the Ovidiu Buluc Cultural Foundation.

Filip Bușcu is the initiator and leader of the Romanian Orbital Mission space program, which has launched the ROM-2 and ROM-3 satellites into Earth's orbit, the first functional satellites of Romania. David Ghiberdic was part of the ROM-3 project team, and Rareș Marinescu is a multiple medalist at international physics Olympiads.