How this 18-year-old’s love of origami helped him win a $100,000 at a science fair

Hikaru Kuribayashi, an 18-year-old from Japan, won $100,000 at the 2026 Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair for a simulation program predicting complex folding patterns inspired by origami and natural structures. His research combined a childhood passion for origami with computational methods to model folding in nature, such as ladybug wings and satellite solar panels.