NSF 2026 Idea Machine

Cash prizes and public recognition of the best entries will be awarded as follows:

Each final winning entry will receive a grand prize of $26,000 and its authors (individuals or teams) will be invited to a recognition event in the Washington, D.C. area.
If the winning entry was submitted by a team, the cash prize will go to the team leader, who will be responsible for sharing the prize with other team members.
Authors (individual or team members) of the entries selected by the Blue-Ribbon Panel for virtual interviews will receive a cash prize of $1,000.

Entries may be submitted by individuals or teams. Contestants (individuals and all team members) must be at least 14 years of age on September 1, 2018. U.S. citizens and permanent residents are eligible to enter; individuals who are not U.S. citizens or permanent residents are eligible to enter only if they legally reside in a U.S. state or territory on September 1, 2018.

The following individuals are not eligible to participate in this contest:

Employees of NSF, including but not limited to those with career, temporary, term, or VSEE (Visiting Scientist, Engineer, and Educator) appointments;
NSF contractors;
Fellowship holders working at NSF, e.g., NSF/American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) Science and Technology Policy Fellows and Einstein Fellows;
Others working at NSF, e.g., Intergovernmental Personnel Act (IPA) assignees;
Idea Machine judges;
Family members of, persons living in the same household as, and anyone who has a financial relationship with employees of NSF (including but not limited to those with career, temporary, term, or VSEE appointments), NSF contractors, Fellowship holders working at NSF, others working at NSF (e.g. IPAs), and Idea Machine judges; and
Federal employees working within the scope of their employment.