TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Huang Chu-han (黃楚涵), a student at Taipei Fuhsing Private School, won a top award at this year’s Taiwan International Science Fair after using coconut fibers to create a heat-resistant material that significantly reduces costs.

This year’s event drew 393 students from 32 countries for the three-day competition. Shih Kuan-yu (施冠宇), a student at the Affiliated Senior High School of National Taiwan Normal University, and Nagasaka Sophia Rei, a Japanese student, also won top awards, per CNA.

Huang created a material combining coconut fibers with carbon nanoparticles, showing strong potential for industrial applications. She said materials that turn heat into electricity are typically expensive and complicated to make, with possible environmental impacts.

Huang said she tested three types of coconuts to find the most suitable fibers. She noted coconut fibers are strong, conduct heat poorly, and can be processed into materials using a simpler method.

Shih won an award for his research on how certain genes in fruit flies affect ovary development and the proteins that control gene activity. He said these genes play an important role in how cells grow and pass on traits.

Nagasaka is the first Japanese student to win a top award at the competition. She applied the concept of “drug targeting” to genetic engineering, using antibiotics to create a system that allows more precise control of genes.

She also added chemicals to speed up and simplify gene recombination, increasing DNA recombination efficiency by about eight times compared with existing methods.

The competition organizer said this year’s event added a category for vocational high school students. Shao Yung-hsi (邵永曦), a student at Taipei Kai Nan High School, won for applying AI to interpret chest X-rays for breast cancer screening.