In May, two former students from Colégio Valsassina took their product – a waterproofing material using chitosan, a polymer obtained from chitin found in shrimp shells – to the Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fest (ISEF), with the support of Instituto Superior Técnico.

The project, which culminated in a product that can be applied to fabrics such as clothes, ranked fourth in the “Chemistry” category, among the 70 projects in competition and was one of the winners of the Mary Kay Prize for Innovation for secondary school scientists. ISEF brought together more than 1600 scientific projects in Los Angeles (United States).

Frederico and Madalena represented Portugal in Los Angeles after winning the National Science Exhibition in 2023 with Jéssica. The project was carried out under the supervision of professors Ana Paula Ribeiro, Luísa Margarida Martins, and researcher Ana Ferraria.

The experimental work took place entirely at Técnico – Alameda campus.