Inaugurated in 2010, the Gordon E. Moore Award is the grand prize at the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF). Every year, the competition draws some 1,500 high school students from around the world
Inaugurated in 2010, the Gordon E. Moore Award is the grand prize at the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF). Every year, the competition draws some 1,500 high school students from around the world to compete for the Moore Award’s $75,000 purse. This year’s winner is Jack Andraka, a 15-year-old high school freshman from Crownsville, Maryland. Andraka developed a new way to detect early-stage pancreatic cancer. He coated strips of paper with nano-tubes made of atom-thick carbon that had been saturated with particular antibodies. When the paper strips are dipped in a patient’s urine or blood, mesothelin—a protein that can indicate pancreatic cancer when found in high concentrations—adheres to the antibodies in the nanotubes, noticeably changing the electrical conductivity of the paper strip. Early testing has shown the method to be 90 percent accurate, and, relative to current tests, Andraka’s sensor appears to be 28 times faster, 28 times cheaper, and over 100 times more sensitive. Should those initial results hold up, it will offer a superb illustration of the ability of private philanthropy to yield compound gains to society. Intel stands to increase shareholder value, having associated its cor