UAH- International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF)

The College of Engineering at The University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH) is pleased to host the 71st Annual North Alabama Regional Science and Engineering Fair (NARSEF). The fair will be held February 28, 2025.

The North Alabama Regional Science and Engineering Fair (NARSEF) provides 6th – 12th grade students from Colbert, Cullman, Fayette, Franklin, Jackson, Lamar, Lauderdale, Lawrence, Limestone, Madison, Marion, Marshall, and Morgan counties the opportunity to showcase their independent or team research and design projects to local experts in the fields of life science, physical science, environmental studies, psychology, and engineering.

Last year, over 75 students participated, and over 63% of the presenters won an award or advanced to the state fair. The grand prize for the senior division (9th – 12th grades) is a trip to the International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF). This fair brings together hundreds of science fair winners from all over the world to compete against each other.

The opportunities that NARSEF and their corporate donors have provided have helped to shape the future of hundreds of local students in addition to helping support and build STEM education programs throughout the North Alabama Region.

NARSEF Categories

Animal and Plant Sciences

Topics include: animal behavior, cellular studies, development, ecology, genetics, nutrition and growth, physiology, systematics and evolution, agriculture and agronomy, genetics and breeding, pathology, and plant physiology.

Behavioral & Social Sciences

Topics include: behavioral neuroscience, development, cognitive psychology, sociology, and anthropology.

Cell, Molecular, Microbiology, & Biochemistry

Topics include: cell physiology, cellular immunology, genetics, molecular biology, neurobiology, antimicrobial and antibiotics, applied microbiology, bacteriology, environmental microbiology, microbial genetics, virology, analytical biochemistry, general biochemistry, medicinal biochemistry, and structural biochemistry.

Chemistry

Topics include: analytical chemistry, computational chemistry, environmental chemistry, inorganic chemistry, materials chemistry, organic chemistry, and physical chemistry.

Engineering

Topics include: aerospace and aeronautical engineering, civil engineering, computational mechanics, control theory, ground vehicle systems, industrial engineering-processing, mechanical engineering, and naval systems.

Energy

Topics include: biological process and design, solar process, materials, and design, energy storage, wind and water movement power generation, hydrogran generation and storage, thermal generation and design, triboelectricity and electrolysis, electronic, optical, and magnetic materials, nanomaterials, and polymers.

Earth and Environmental Sciences & Environmental Engineering

Topics include: atmospheric science, climate science, environmental effects on ecosystems, water sciecne, bioremediation, land reclamation, pollution control, recycling and waste management, and water resources management.

Biomedical Engineering & Biomedical and Health Scieneces

Topics include: biomaterials and regenerative medicine, biomechanics, biomedical devices, biomedical sensors and imaging, cell and tissue engineering, synthetic biology, cell, organ, and systems physiology, genetics and molecular biology of disease, immunology, nutrition and natural products, pathophysiology, disease detection, disease prevention, disease treatment and therapies, drug identification and testing, and pre-clinical studies.

Physics, Astronomy, & Mathematics

Topics include: atomic, molecular, and optical physics, astronomy and cosmology, biological physics, condensed matter and materials, mechanics, nuclear and particle physics, theoretical, computational, and quantum physics, algebra, analysis, combinatorics, graph theory, and game theory, geometry and topology, number theory, and probability and statistics.

Robotic Systems and Communication Technology

Topics include: biomechanics, cognitive systems, control theory, machine learning, robot kinematics, algorithms, cybersecurity, databases, human/machine interface, languages and operating systems, mobile apps, online learning, circuits, internet of things, microcontrollers, networking and data communications, optics, sensors, and signal processing. 

Computational and Bioinformatics Sciences

Topics include: computational biomodeling, computational epidemiology, computational evolutionary biology, computational neuroscience, computational pharmacology, and genomics.