Did you ever think that a paper airplane could win a science competition?

Last October, 14-year-old Miles Wu won the Junior Innovators Challenge science competition. The way he did it might be surprising, though. Miles won the competition by folding origami! He was one of the few students who managed to get to the finals in Washington, D.C.

Miles focused on folding origami folds that could support a lot of weight. Eventually, he settled on the Miura-Ori fold, which could support up to 1000 times its weight! A Miura-Ori fold is a parallelogram fold that repeats, allowing it to fold up into small areas. They are primarily used in satellites, which use the fold to extend and shrink their solar panels. Miles took an interest in this type of fold because of its natural strength and ability to fold from a large, lightweight structure into a small and easily carried object.

Miles says that he hopes to create foldable emergency shelters because of their strength and portability.