Fourteen-year-old Liam Desre, a Grade 9 student from Kingston, Ontario, won the Best Project Discovery award at the 2026 Canada-Wide Science Fair for a theoretical model suggesting black hole entropy—rather than dark energy—drives the universe’s accelerating expansion. His computer simulation matched 93% of observed cosmic data, offering a new potential explanation for a foundational mystery in astrophysics.
How Can Black Holes Explain Cosmic Expansion?
Mainstream astrophysics currently relies on the concept of dark energy to explain why the universe expands at an accelerating rate, according to NASA. However, because dark energy does not interact with light and remains unobserved, its exact nature is unknown. Liam Desre’s project proposes that entropy—a measure of disorder within a system—found in black holes may account for this acceleration instead. By applying the physics outlined in Leonard Susskind’s The Black Hole War to the broader universe, Desre developed a mathematical model suggesting that black hole properties provide a more observable framework for cosmic behavior than the theoretical dark energy.
Black holes are regions of spacetime where gravity is so intense that nothing—not even light—can escape. They typically form following the collapse of massive stars.
The Role of Independent Research in Modern Science
Desre’s project stands out because it was completed without formal academic mentorship. After noticing his sister’s university-level computer science and math textbooks in middle school, Desre began self-teaching the advanced calculus and physics required to understand cosmic structures. According to Reni Barlow, executive director of Youth Science Canada, Desre’s ability to manage complex theoretical bases and advanced mathematics independently is “remarkable.” While most academic research is conducted through university-led teams, independent projects like Desre’s are increasingly gaining recognition at national competitions for their novel perspectives on long-standing problems.
Future Implications for Theoretical Physics
The success of this model at the Canada-Wide Science Fair has opened doors for further validation in the global scientific community. Desre has been invited to present his work at the European Union Contest for Young Scientists (EUCYS) in Germany. His methodology—which involved months of self-taught computer programming to create a simulation that aligned with 93% of observed universal expansion—demonstrates a shift toward accessible, data-driven modeling. While university scholarships represent the immediate reward for his work, the long-term impact lies in whether his entropy-based hypothesis can be peer-reviewed and integrated into existing models used by organizations like NASA and the European Space Agency.
When modeling complex physical systems, focus on finding parallels between small-scale phenomena (like black holes) and large-scale structures (the universe). This “scaling” technique is a common approach in theoretical physics.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the primary difference between dark energy and Desre’s entropy theory?
Dark energy is currently theorized as a uniform, invisible energy filling space. Desre’s model suggests that cosmic expansion is instead driven by the inherent entropy of black holes, which are observable entities.
How was the 93% accuracy figure determined?
According to Desre, he developed a custom computer simulation to test his mathematical model against established observational data of the universe’s expansion rate.
What is the next step for this research?
Desre is preparing to present his findings at the European Union Contest for Young Scientists (EUCYS) held in Germany.
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