Britain’s next generation of scientists and engineers recognised at The Big Bang
The biggest ever UK celebration of young people’s achievement in both science and engineering ended on Friday (6 March 2009).
The Big Bang Fair took place at the QEII Conference Centre in London from 4-6 March, leading into National Science and Engineering Week – a 10-day celebration of science and engineering which is currently taking place around the country.
At the Fair, over 200 students aged 11-19 from around the country exhibited their science, technology, engineering and mathematics projects and competed for a number of prizes in the following competition finals:
Two talented students were named overall winners of the National Science Competition. Peter Hatfield from the Simon Langton Grammar School for Boys, Canterbury, was crowned UK Young Scientist of the Year, while CREST student Chris Jefferies from Pershore High School in Worcestershire, was crowned UK Young Technologist of the Year.
Peter incorporated technology from CERN's Large Hadron Collider in a device designed to detect cosmic rays. The detector is due to be launched into space on a satellite in 2011.
Chris, together with his team-mates Steven Maughan and Matthew Smith, designed and constructed devices that detect and prevent damage to the equipment used in the testing of gearboxes.
Peter and Chris each receive a substantial prize, including a personal cash prize of £5000; a trophy; a netbook computer and a once in a lifetime trip to NASA Space Centres in Florida and Houston with the International Space School Educational Trust.
They have already stepped into the media spotlight, and will now act as ambassadors for their subjects and help to inspire others to get involved in science and technology. They will have the opportunity to represent UK youth science and engineering at events and visits in the UK and abroad; including a visit to the cutting-edge research facility, Diamond Light Source.
Science and Innovation Minister, Lord Drayson, who presented the two National Science Competition awards said: ‘It is it extremely encouraging to see the number of entrants that have taken part in this competition. I’ve seen some really exciting and innovative projects and really want to congratulate Peter Hatfield and Chris Jefferies on their success. It is great to see young scientists and engineers inspired to experiment with ideas and apply science and technology to real life scenarios.
‘I really want to bust the myth that science is boring and geeky – it is far from it. This competition has highlighted the reality of science today, it’s exciting, fascinating and shapes all our lives. Young scientists today will shape our future tomorrow – which is why competitions like this are so important to celebrate young British talent.’
While the two top prizes given at The Big Bang were to individuals, many spectacular and substantial prizes were also awarded to teachers, teams and clubs.
Tessa O’Shea from Wimbledon High School was awarded the Lloyd’s Register Educational Trust Teachers’ Award for demonstrating passion and pride in engaging students with science, engineering, technology and maths subjects through outreach schemes such as those on show at The Big Bang. Along with a trophy and £500 bursary, Tessa wins a trip to this year’s Intel International Science and Engineering Fair – the world’s largest pre-college science competition.
41 CREST Award students also received recognition for their impressive projects, with some even walking away with multiple awards.
Hannah Stuart from The King’s School Canterbury, Kent, for example, investigated the interactions of proteins involved in a cancer-linked signalling pathway and won both the EU competition for Young Scientists Prize (along with Robert Tann from Sibford School, Banbury, and Courtney Williams from William Farr C of E Comprehensive School, Lincoln) and the Royal Society International Expedition Prize (alongside Sam Bedford from Halesowen College in the West Midlands).
Her achievements mean 2009 will be a year of amazing experiences for her, as she’ll not only be representing the UK in Paris at the EU competition, but will also take part in a major scientific expedition to the rainforests of Borneo.
Roland Jackson, Chief Executive of the British Science Association, commented: ‘We have seen a range of stunning CREST projects this year, a tribute to the creativity of our young people in the UK, and their abilities in science and technology.
‘Students have tackled projects as diverse as the construction of a mobile robot able to follow a laser beam “track”, the production of a new classification system for dating fracture healing processes in babies’ bones to help improve the judicial system for child abuse cases, and analysis of ice cover and ocean conditions in the Arctic Northwest passage.
‘Through this event we celebrate the achievement of the rising generation of scientists and engineers, and seek to encourage others to take part in this rewarding activity.’
A full list of winners is available on The Big Bang website, along with a short highlight video of the awards ceremony and a message from the Prime Minister. Follow the following links to see the winners of specific competitions:
The Big Bang Fair took place at the QEII Conference Centre in London from 4-6 March, leading into National Science and Engineering Week – a 10-day celebration of science and engineering which is currently taking place around the country.
At the Fair, over 200 students aged 11-19 from around the country exhibited their science, technology, engineering and mathematics projects and competed for a number of prizes in the following competition finals:
- National Science Competition
- British Science Association CREST Awards
- Young Engineer for Britain
- Young Engineers National Club Awards
- Team QinetiQ Competition
- IET Faraday Engineering Challenge Final
- Senior Team Mathematics Challenge
Two talented students were named overall winners of the National Science Competition. Peter Hatfield from the Simon Langton Grammar School for Boys, Canterbury, was crowned UK Young Scientist of the Year, while CREST student Chris Jefferies from Pershore High School in Worcestershire, was crowned UK Young Technologist of the Year.
Peter incorporated technology from CERN's Large Hadron Collider in a device designed to detect cosmic rays. The detector is due to be launched into space on a satellite in 2011.
Chris, together with his team-mates Steven Maughan and Matthew Smith, designed and constructed devices that detect and prevent damage to the equipment used in the testing of gearboxes.
Peter and Chris each receive a substantial prize, including a personal cash prize of £5000; a trophy; a netbook computer and a once in a lifetime trip to NASA Space Centres in Florida and Houston with the International Space School Educational Trust.
They have already stepped into the media spotlight, and will now act as ambassadors for their subjects and help to inspire others to get involved in science and technology. They will have the opportunity to represent UK youth science and engineering at events and visits in the UK and abroad; including a visit to the cutting-edge research facility, Diamond Light Source.
Science and Innovation Minister, Lord Drayson, who presented the two National Science Competition awards said: ‘It is it extremely encouraging to see the number of entrants that have taken part in this competition. I’ve seen some really exciting and innovative projects and really want to congratulate Peter Hatfield and Chris Jefferies on their success. It is great to see young scientists and engineers inspired to experiment with ideas and apply science and technology to real life scenarios.
‘I really want to bust the myth that science is boring and geeky – it is far from it. This competition has highlighted the reality of science today, it’s exciting, fascinating and shapes all our lives. Young scientists today will shape our future tomorrow – which is why competitions like this are so important to celebrate young British talent.’
While the two top prizes given at The Big Bang were to individuals, many spectacular and substantial prizes were also awarded to teachers, teams and clubs.
Tessa O’Shea from Wimbledon High School was awarded the Lloyd’s Register Educational Trust Teachers’ Award for demonstrating passion and pride in engaging students with science, engineering, technology and maths subjects through outreach schemes such as those on show at The Big Bang. Along with a trophy and £500 bursary, Tessa wins a trip to this year’s Intel International Science and Engineering Fair – the world’s largest pre-college science competition.
41 CREST Award students also received recognition for their impressive projects, with some even walking away with multiple awards.
Hannah Stuart from The King’s School Canterbury, Kent, for example, investigated the interactions of proteins involved in a cancer-linked signalling pathway and won both the EU competition for Young Scientists Prize (along with Robert Tann from Sibford School, Banbury, and Courtney Williams from William Farr C of E Comprehensive School, Lincoln) and the Royal Society International Expedition Prize (alongside Sam Bedford from Halesowen College in the West Midlands).
Her achievements mean 2009 will be a year of amazing experiences for her, as she’ll not only be representing the UK in Paris at the EU competition, but will also take part in a major scientific expedition to the rainforests of Borneo.
Roland Jackson, Chief Executive of the British Science Association, commented: ‘We have seen a range of stunning CREST projects this year, a tribute to the creativity of our young people in the UK, and their abilities in science and technology.
‘Students have tackled projects as diverse as the construction of a mobile robot able to follow a laser beam “track”, the production of a new classification system for dating fracture healing processes in babies’ bones to help improve the judicial system for child abuse cases, and analysis of ice cover and ocean conditions in the Arctic Northwest passage.
‘Through this event we celebrate the achievement of the rising generation of scientists and engineers, and seek to encourage others to take part in this rewarding activity.’
A full list of winners is available on The Big Bang website, along with a short highlight video of the awards ceremony and a message from the Prime Minister. Follow the following links to see the winners of specific competitions:
- National Science Competition winners
- CREST Award winners
- Young Engineers winners
- Team QinetiQ Competition winners
- IET Faraday Engineering Challenge Final winners
- Senior Team Mathematics Challenge winners
search this section
