IJAS Affiliated Fair - USIL50

Multi-Round Virtual Fair with IJAS Regional Participation

IJAS Rules

• Applicant must be enrolled in an Illinois school or Illinois based program (such as IMSA-RISE or Illinois STEM Society) or be a homeschooled Illinois resident.
• Applicant must be an individual IJAS member or a student or a student of an IJAS member school.
• Applicant must be a 9th-12th grade student.
• Applicant & Project must follow ALL IJAS Policy & Procedures and ALL ISEF Rules & Regulations.
• Applicant MUST compete in their IJAS Regional Poster Session.

IJAS ISEF - Schedule & Deadlines

SRC Approval Questions & Review of ISEF Safety Documents

August 1, 2025 - February 1, 2026

Submit ISEF USIL50 questions via email to ISEF@ijas.org

Round 1 - Entry Deadline

February 1, 2026 - 11:59 PM CST

Submit ISEF Abstract via email to ISEF@ijas.org

ISEF Abstract Form 22

Confirmation emails will be sent as we process each abstract.

If you do not receive a confirmation email by February 3, 2026 - 11:59 PM CST, please contact ISEF@ijas.org on February 3, 2026.

Round 2 - SRC Final Approval - Safety Documents Deadline

February 1, 2026 - 11:59 PM CST

Submit ISEF Safety Documents via email to ISEF@ijas.org

ISEF Forms 1, 1A (including a complete Research Plan/Project Summary), 1B, 3, and as needed Form 1C, 2, 4, 5A, 5B, 6A, 6B, 7

All forms must be completed electronically and submitted in PDF format.

Semi-finalists Announced

February 15, 2026 - 11:59 PM CST

Facebook/Instagram - IJAS Website - Email

Round 3 - Semi-finalists All Document Deadline

February 28, 2026 - 11:59 PM CST

Submit the Final IJAS Competition Paper (pdf), Project Display - Poster (pdf), Quad Chart (pdf), and 2-Minute Project Video (link if needed due to size) via email to ISEF@ijas.org

Quad Chart, Video, and Display Resource

Project-Material-Guidelines.pdf

Round 4 - Semi-Finalist Interviews & Presentations

Zoom

March 1, 2026 - March 10, 2026

IJAS ISEF Projects Announced

Up to the Top 9 projects

March 15, 2026 - 11:59 PM CST

Facebook/Instagram - IJAS Website - Email

Awardees will receive an additional email with the next steps and additional deadlines for final submissions to ISEF.

IJAS ISEF USIL50 Projects Showcase

All Selected Finalists

April 24-25, 2026 - IJAS State Science Exposition - Southern Illinois University

ISEF Resources & Documents