Our very own DAS member, Ersel Serdar, won two major awards this year at the Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF). It is  the world’s largest and most prestigious pre-college STEM competition. Approximately 1700 students from 75 nations compete at the ISEF for scholarships and glory. The finalists who  participate are selected from regional, district, and state ISEF-affiliated competitions, such as the Denver Metro Regional Science and Engineering Fair (DMRSEF). The 2023 Regeneron ISEF was held in Dallas, Texas, between May 14-19, 2023.

Ersel was a finalist who represented Denver at the ISEF. He  competed in the Engineering Technology: Statics and Dynamics category  with his project titled A New Rocket Nozzle Design To Improve  Performance at High Altitudes.

His project was in regards to the design of rocket nozzles and their loss of efficiency at high altitudes, with a proposal of a new hybrid nozzle design to greatly improve efficiency at those same high altitudes. He was even able to test his designs with CU Boulder to evaluate the hypothesis.

For his project, Ersel won the following awards at Regeneron ISEF:

• Special Award: US Air Force First Place in the Engineering Technology: Statics and Dynamics Category Award
• Grand Award: 3rd place in the Engineering Technology: Statics and Dynamics Category

If you want to learn more and see all the winners, you can take a look at the following links below.

Grand award winners:
https://www.societyforscience.org/press-release/regeneron-isef-full-awards-2023/

Special award winners:
https://www.societyforscience.org/press-release/regeneron-isef-2023-special-awards-winners/