Janak Vasisht wins $6,000 at Regeneron fair for AI blades
Janak Vasisht, a student at the H-B Woodlawn Secondary Program in Virginia, just took home a $6,000 prize at the 2026 Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair.
His project? Using artificial intelligence to make wind turbine blades work smarter, so much so that each turbine could generate about 2,236 extra megawatt-hours of energy every year.
Vasisht's simulations showed offshore power boosts
Janak's design focused on massive offshore turbines, using advanced algorithms to tweak blade performance for different wind speeds and angles.
After running simulations with real wind data, his optimized blades showed major power boosts, especially in strong winds.
If adopted across 193 planned US turbines, this approach could mean an extra $68.8 million in annual revenue.
Not bad for a science fair project!