Competition
Compete at ASERS
ASERS gives high school students several ways to present and defend their research throughout the day.
Students give an oral presentation, answer questions from judges, and later discuss their work in a poster session. Different judges evaluate the oral and poster portions whenever possible, giving each project more than one independent review.
ASERS uses several independent evaluations because judging complex work can be affected by first impressions, individual scoring styles, and group discussion.
Rules & eligibility
Can I enter?
Grades: 9–12
Projects: Individual or team
Research: Original experimental, computational, engineering, or theoretical work
Required: Research paper, oral presentation, and poster
Safety review: Required where applicable
Registration: Through your local ASERS chapter
ASERS competitions are open to high school students in grades 9–12 through participating chapters. Students may enter individual or team research projects that meet their chapter's eligibility requirements.
Projects must involve original student research. Demonstrations, literature reviews, informational projects, and projects that only reproduce existing work are not eligible as research entries.
Structured scientific feedback
Every participant should get value from presenting, whether or not they receive an award. After the symposium, ASERS aims to provide a combined feedback report built from judge evaluations.
- Strongest part of the work
- Most important limitation
- Alternative explanation to consider
- One experiment or analysis that would strengthen the conclusion
- One question worth pursuing next
Competition format
Research paper review
Research papers are reviewed before the event for scientific consistency, methods, supporting evidence, and possible research integrity concerns. The paper helps judges understand and verify the work; writing polish does not determine awards.
Oral presentation
Students give a timed presentation followed by questions from a panel of judges. Judges score projects independently before discussing them with one another.
Poster session
A separate group of judges examines the project at the poster, looking closely at figures, methods, results, and individual claims. Poster judges do not see oral scores before submitting their own evaluations.
Final review
Major awards consider the full set of evaluations. Large differences between oral and poster results are reviewed rather than automatically averaged away.
Find your chapter
Registration and eligibility details are handled by each chapter.
The improvement loop
Science is not a frozen submission. Students present, receive criticism, revise, and test again. Regional finalists are encouraged to strengthen their analyses, address judge feedback, conduct additional experiments, and correct limitations before the National Symposium.
Submit → present → receive feedback → improve → defend again