Thank you for showing an interest in judging at the next Science Expo.  This year, we are planning on having a virtual event, so judging will not be done in person on site.  Instead, students will provide a combination of pictures and videos for judges to use to evaluate the projects.  

As we are a certified feeder to the international level of competition, we need to state the qualifications for judges. If you have received a four-year college degree or work in an area of science and/or technology, you are eligible to judge.. This year’s Expo will include an Open Competition and a Challenge Competition.  In the Open Competition, the students present their independent research efforts through poster presentations and interviews.  In the Challenge Competition, student teams compete against each other in designed challenges.

Duties, Procedures and Timing

When judging research projects in person, you would probably spend approximately 15-20 minutes viewing each presentation as displayed on the poster board, and discussing the research involved with the student(s) present. This year, however, the fair will be virtual and you will assess each project by means of pictures and a video.  You will tabulate the score earned by the student(s) using an evaluation sheet which will be provided to you and explained before the judging starts.  

This is not the normal way to do judging, but try to evaluate honestly.  

We appreciate your interest in judging in the coming fair.  

The registration process has changed from past years.  This year, we will be using STEM Wizard software for registration, category preferences, project assignment, and scoring. 

As you proceed through the registration process, there is a choice of whether you want to be a category judge.  PLEASE select “Yes” to this question. DO NOT select “No”.   If you select NO, you will not be given the option to choose preferred categories or to rate your expertise.  For all of the project categories, you will be asked to rate your expertise on a scale of 1 to 5. At the bottom of that page, you can choose up to three preferred categories.  

We understand this is more information than you’ve provided in the past, but that is how the software was developed. The advantage of the new system is that the information remains in the system.  You do not need to re-enter the info every year, but you can edit if there are any changes. 

You will also be asked if you want to be a Category Lead Judge. You can choose either “Yes” or “No” because we will not be using this feature this year.  If it were being used, a Category Lead Judge could  be the leader of a group of judges in the same category who would caucus on their judged projects to determine the winner of a category.  

During registration, you will also be asked to agree to an Ethics Statement, which is a new step required by ISEF this year. 

For the registration process, you will leave this site and be taken to STEMWizard.com. Click HERE to start registration. 

If you have additional questions before you register, then click HERE to be able to contact the Judge Committee. 

Sample Judge Scoring Forms may be viewed by clicking on the following link. Sample Score Sheet  

We expect the 2021 Expo to be virtual this year, so we will not have a schedule for a specific day.  Rather, the schedule for when judging is done will be determined by each individual.

Student project presentations are expected to be submitted by March 18, 2021.  Students will prepare pictures and a video presentation that judges will use to evaluate the project.  Projects will be assigned to judges, and judging will be conducted from Mar 22 to Mar 28.  Specific judging times will be determined by individual judges.  Winners will be announced March 30.  More details as we get closer.