The Winners of the 2025 Gizmodo Science Fair

Welcome to the 2025 Gizmodo Science Fair, our annual celebration of bold research that pushed boundaries, explored uncharted territory, and sought to make the world a better place. This year’s winning teams took big risks in pursuit of ambitious goals. Their work is a powerful reminder of not just why science matters, but why we love it—and why we need to protect it.

Read on to discover a vaccine targeting a range of fungal infections, the world’s first megawatt-scale tidal kite, a project bringing ancient mummy scents back to life, a cutting-edge rocket engine pushing the limits of propulsion, and a whole lot more.

The Vera C. Rubin Observatory

Vera Rubin Observatory

For producing unprecedented views of the universe using a powerful camera and combining it with depth and speed to detect extremely faint objects.

Minesto

For deploying the first operational, megawatt-scale tidal energy kite.

University of Georgia

For research into a fungus-fighting vaccine that could protect against deadly and common fungal infections.

The ALICE Collaboration at CERN

CERN

For transforming lead into gold for a fraction of a second and shedding new light on the strange physics that happens inside the Large Hadron Collider.

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

MIT

For creating an atmospheric water harvesting device that could improve access to potable water in the most remote, arid regions of the world.

Mass Eye and Ear

For developing an experimental stem cell therapy for severely injured corneas.

Varda Space Industries

Varda

For successfully launching a first-of-its-kind in-orbit manufacturing spacecraft and returning it to Earth, bringing home a batch of space-made drugs.

GO-Eco

For developing a non-toxic replacement for harmful forever chemicals (PFAS).

University of Ljubljana and the Egyptian Museum of Cairo

University of Ljubljana

For reproducing the smell of mummies from Ancient Egypt.

Venus Aerospace

For designing, building, and testing an efficient new form of rocket propulsion—a rotating detonation engine.

Bristol Myers Squibb and Karuna Therapeutics

Bristol Myers Squibb

For research and development of Cobenfy, the first truly novel treatment for schizophrenia in 50 years.

ETH Zurich, Texas A&M University, Hamad Bin Khalifa University, Canadian Light Source Inc., and the Paul Scherrer Institute

Texas A&M University, Hamad Bin Khalifa University, Canadian Light Source Inc., ETH Zurich, and Paul Scherrer Institute

For developing an environmentally friendly way to fuel nuclear fusion.

Astroscale

For developing a satellite capable of rendezvousing with orbital junk, with the goal of capturing and releasing it toward a fiery grave.

Trending Products