Teen Wins Big for Extraordinary Origami Innovation

Quick Smiles:

• 14-year-old Miles Wu created origami structures holding 10,000 times their weight.
• He won first prize and $25,000 at a national junior innovators competition.
• His invention could improve deployable emergency shelters.

Miles Wu, a bright young origami enthusiast from New York City, transformed his passion for folding paper into an innovative project that stunned the science world. Inspired by disaster relief efforts and his love for origami, Miles engineered a structure strong enough to support 10,000 times its own weight using the Miura-ori folding technique.

After designing and testing 54 different variations over 108 trials, Miles discovered that lighter materials with certain folds performed best. His dedication earned him first place at the Thermo Fisher Scientific Junior Innovators Challenge, rising to the top among 2,000 entrants.

“A problem with current deployable structures and emergency structures is, for example, tents are sometimes strong, sometimes they can compact really small, and sometimes they’re easily deployable, but almost never are they all three, but Miura-ori could potentially solve that problem,” Wu told Business Insider.

Wu’s prize money will help support his education as he continues exploring new frontiers with origami and innovation. Who knows what impressive creations he’ll imagine next?

If Miles’ story put a smile on your face, consider sharing it with friends and family to spread some extra inspiration today!

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