Meet Hikaru Kuribayashi: The 18-year-old teen who started with paper folds and ended with a $100,000 global science win
At first glance, a sheet of folded paper may seem far removed from advanced engineering. But for Japanese student Kuribayashi, origami became the starting point for a scientific investigation into how structures move. The student from Sapporo Kaisei Secondary School studied the complex folding patterns of a ladybug wing, exploring how its delicate design allows it to open, close and change shape. Rather than focusing on a single movement, he developed a new approach to represent the many possible ways flexible structures can behave. His research, which connects traditional Japanese paper folding with modern physics and engineering, earned international recognition at ISEF 2026, where he received the George D. Yancopoulos Innovator Award and a major prize for his work.
Japanese teen’s origami-inspired ladybug wing model breaks new ground in 2026
Kuribayashi, a student at Sapporo Kaisei Secondary School in Japan, did not set out simply to recreate the beauty of origami. His focus was on understanding movement.The teen developed a model using the structure of the ladybug wing, which is fragile but performs intricate movements in nature. Whereas a rigid body has just a couple of movements, the ladybug’s wing has several folds and bends making it capable of opening, closing and changing its position. However, it is hard to capture such intricate movements by engineers since traditional computer models usually study the potential movements one after another.Kuribayashi found out that folded structures can move in infinitely many ways depending on how their surface changes. One single fold can affect several movements when the material is flexible.Thus, his concept suggested moving beyond one single motion and developing a universal model for several possible motions simultaneously.
Origami-inspired research unlocked new ways to study movement
Origami has long influenced engineering. One well-known example is the Miura-ori fold, a pattern that allows surfaces to collapse and expand efficiently. The design has been studied for applications ranging from space structures to compact engineering systems.Kuribayashi looked at similar patterns found in the natural world. Leaves, insect wings and other biological structures often rely on folding mechanisms that allow them to change shape while remaining lightweight.Instead of treating these folds only as geometric puzzles, he approached them as networks of points and lines. The marks created by creases became a way to describe how a structure could move.This allowed him to create a probability-based model that could account for a wider range of possible changes than many existing methods.
How origami-inspired research reveals hidden patterns of motion
The challenge with flexible materials is that they do not always behave like rigid machines. A metal part in a mechanical system may follow a predictable path, but a thin biological structure can twist, stretch and temporarily deform.Kuribayashi’s method attempts to capture those unpredictable movements. By analysing the relationships between folds and points, his model can represent different ways a structure might move rather than following only a single calculated route.The approach could eventually help engineers create technology based on natural designs. Flexible robotics, lightweight structures and adaptive materials are among the areas where understanding these movements could be useful.The project was not about building a finished product. Instead, it offered a new way of thinking about how movement itself can be mapped.
A major win at the world’s largest student science competition
At ISEF 2026, Kuribayashi received the George D. Yancopoulos Innovator Award, along with a $100,000 prize. He also won first place in the physics category, earning an additional $6,000.The competition, organised by the Society for Science, has brought together some of the world’s most promising young scientists since 1950. Thousands of students participate each year, presenting projects across fields including physics, biology, engineering and environmental science.For Kuribayashi, the recognition came from connecting a traditional art form with a modern scientific challenge.Origami has existed for centuries as a creative practice built around patience and precision. His research showed how those same folds can also become a language for studying movement, revealing information hidden inside something as simple as a piece of paper.
From folded paper to future engineering
Opening leaves in response to sunlight or a beetle taking off to fly might seem effortless processes; however, complex structures lie beneath all of them and have been developed over millions of years of evolution.In his research, Kuribayashi investigated how one can study and recreate such structures. With the help of fold marks analysis, he managed to come up with a technique that allows for investigating hard-to-analyse movements.The little paper models that the young man showed at the science fair were a part of a bigger problem: how can humans benefit from nature’s way of building and moving? For the boy, who made origami into a science tool, it was enough to start with fold marks analysis.
