Important Dates for the 2024 Fair

December 1, 2023 — Certification deadline.

Certification of all projects that fall under ISEF certification rules. Note that the Form 1C is not required for certification. ISEF forms must be submitted by this date for any project that involves hazardous equipment or materials, vertebrate animals, human subjects, biological microorganisms of any kind, or recombinant DNA.

Some schools have been authorized for local SRCs. Please note that there is an EXCEPTION to the local SRC process. We require that projects involving vertebrate animals be approved by the NJRSF SRC (not just the local SRC, if one exists) before the work is begun. If your project falls under this rule, you must request an SRC review, since the existence of your local SRC will prevent it from being triggered automatically.

If you are using FAVR, then the requirement is for your project to be fully specified on FAVR, and for all required signatures to be in place, if your project falls into any of these areas.

Feb 5, 2024 — Registration deadline

All students involved in individual or team projects must have their projects registered on the website and all TNJSF and ISEF forms submitted electronically (or the FVR record complete and fully signed) by this date. For projects where it is required, a preliminary Form 1C must be submitted if the final is not yet available.

If using FAVR, then the Mentor Reports must be submitted. (They can be updated until the clearance deadline.)

Once you have completed the project registration on the zFairs site, you can monitor your project status at https://tnjsf.org/cgi-bin/zReport.pl

Your NJRSF Research Plan Form and Form 1C must be submitted by this date for your project to be included in the Phase I Judging. Entries with incomplete or missing Research Plans and/or Mentor Reports will be automatically withdrawn from the Fair.

Feb 22, 2024 — Final SRC clearance date. Phase I judging results announced.

Any issues with your submitted ISEF forms must be cleared by this date.

If applicable to your project, the final Form 1C must be submitted by this date.

If applicable to your project, your Project Summary must also be submitted by this date. If you upload a summary, it should be on the same form as the research plan, but identified as the Project Summary at the time you upload it. The purpose of a summary is to document any omissions from your original plan. This is only important if you plan to continue the work in a subsequent year.

March 4, 2024 — Abstract, Presentation, and Supplemental Registration deadline

Abstracts are to be submitted via zFairs, on the form provided there. To access the form or to do the upload, go to your zfairs account and click on your name (upper right) to get to your profile. On the Paperwork tab, you will find the link for the blank form and also the link for uploading it after you fill it out. Be sure to use adobe reader (not MAC Safari Preview Mode!) to handle and fill out the form. Abstracts are manually reviewed before they are posted on the site, so be sure you make allowance for that delay. Abstracts submitted earlier in the process can be revised until this date.

For projects which are not participating in the judging phase of the fair the abstract deadline is also March 4..

Your presentation file (powerpoint or pdf) must be submitted by this date. These files, which will be inspected by the Display and Safety Committee for compliance with display rules, will be used for the virtual fair, which opens the day after the physical event.

March 11, 2024 — Deadline for approval of Presentation File

For projects being judged further, your presentation file must be approved by the Display and Safety Committee on or before this date. Since the reviews take time, do not put this off to the last minute.

IMPORTANT NOTE We will allow changes for final approval until Mar 11, but delayed approval may impact your eligibility for certain special awards. Some special award judges will be reviewing projects for preliminary selection starting March 7. The presentation file must be approved before it is released, so take that into account in your planning. Early submission is a good idea.

For projects not participating in the judging phase the presentation file must be submitted by March 11, and will be released after approval.

March 23-24: Exhibition at Kean University

See the Fair Schedule for details.

March 24, 2024 — Awards Ceremony

March 25, 2022 — Release of Public Virtual Fair

Your abstract will link to the presentation file, which will become public at this point, providing you gave permission on your Supplementary Registration form. You will have the option, either before or after the fair, to submit a recorded video, using your approved presentation file, to describe your project. These videos will be accessible only for the public virtual fair: they are not used (or viewed) before or during judging. These videos will also be subject to approval by the Display and Safety Committee.