Leopardi High School in Recanati wins the tenth edition of Mad for Science

The Giacomo Leopardi Science High School in Recanati has won the tenth edition of Mad for Science and has been awarded €75,000. Second place went to the Grazia Deledda Technical College in Lecce, which won €45,000, whilst third place went to the Ignazio Vian Scientific High School in Anguillara Sabazia, which received €30,000. The other five finalist schools each received a grant of €10,000 to upgrade their respective science laboratories.

These are the winners of the tenth edition of the Mad for Science National Competition, organised by the Diasorin ETS Foundation, which for the past ten years has been supporting schools, teachers and students on a journey dedicated to scientific culture, experimentation and innovation. The final stage of the competition took place at the Acquario Romano, for the first time in Rome.

The first prize in the tenth edition was awarded to the Giacomo Leopardi Scientific High School in Recanati (MC), for its project “RootNet: Innovative Mycorrhizal Networks Based on the Circular Economy for the Agriculture of the Future”. The winning team, comprising students Andrew Antognini, Cristian Alfonso Esposito, Caterina Giaconi, Giorgio Mancini and Alessandro Travaglia, coordinated by Lucia Galassi, won a grant worth €75,000 to upgrade the school’s science laboratory. Second place went to the Grazia Deledda Technical and Technological Institute in Lecce, with the project “Chromagenesis: Molecular Farming where genes become colour. From the roots of tradition to the bioreactors of the future’, which was awarded €45,000. Third prize, worth €30,000, was awarded to the Liceo Scientifico Ignazio Vian in Anguillara Sabazia (RM), for the project ‘Medical Fish Waste’.

The following schools also received the Finalists’ Prize, worth €10,000 each, to be used to upgrade their respective science laboratories: the Cassandro Fermi Nervi Technical and Technological Institute in Barletta (BT), the Zaccagna-Galilei Technical and Technological Institute in Carrara (MS), the Corradino D’Ascanio Scientific High School in Montesilvano (PE), the Sant’Anna Scientific High School in Turin and the Giovanni Caramuel Technical and Technological Institute in Vigevano (PV), confirming the level of excellence achieved by all the finalist institutions.

The 2026 Mad for Science Challenge saw the eight best schools selected from across the country compete on the theme “Natural resources and health. How biotechnology research helps us protect people and the environment”, with projects that successfully combined creativity, scientific rigour and practical application.