NYC teenager transforms origami into award-winning innovation for disaster relief

Fourteen-year-old Miles Wu from New York City earned the $25,000 grand prize at the Thermo Fisher Scientific Junior Innovators Challenge for his inventive origami-inspired engineering project. The competition, held in Washington, D.C., showcased Wu's work with the Miura ori folda repeating pleated pattern capable of collapsing and expanding in one smooth motionwhich he demonstrated could support over 9,000 times its own weight.

Wus project was chosen by judges from a pool of 30 finalists, selected from roughly 2,000 participants across the United States. His inspiration came from recent natural disasters, including the 2024 Southern California wildfires and Hurricane Helene in the Southeast. Wu explored how origami principles have been applied in various STEM fields, from medical devices to compact engineering solutions.

Discussing the limitations of current emergency shelters, Wu explained, Traditional deployable structures often struggle to be strong, compact, and easy to set up simultaneously. Miura ori could address all three challenges. At home, he conducted experiments adjusting angles and segment sizes to measure their impact on the fold's strength, noting that the design stood out for being lightweight, robust, and highly collapsible.

Organizers highlighted that Wus findings have potential applications in developing lightweight, quickly deployable shelters for disaster relief. Wu intends to continue expanding his research as he progresses toward higher education.

Author: Riley Thompson