Cosmic applause rains down on the UK’s top young scientists
The talents of the UK’s brightest young scientists were rewarded on Friday as they won prizes at the prestigious national BA CREST Science Fair held at the Royal Society, London. Holly Batchelor from The Mary Erskine School in Edinburgh, particularly impressed the judges with her award-winning project investigating cosmic rays – high energy particles that travel close to the speed of light. Her design of a diffusion cloud chamber will also enable school children to see the particle tracks made by cosmic rays for themselves – and since it can be constructed at a fraction of the price of existing equipment, far more schools will be able to afford one.
Holly, who heads off to university this autumn and plans to study physics, said: ‘I had great fun doing this project. It gave me a great insight into what studying at university will be like and that there are many more branches to physics than you get to study at school. It was only supposed to be a six-week replacement, but I keep going back to the university where I did my project to help out.’
Thanks to the success of her project and her ability to impress the judges, Holly was awarded the Intel International Science & Engineering Fair (ISEF) prize at the BA CREST Science Fair. She will be the UK’s science entry in the ISEF competition to be held in Albuquerque, USA in May. Judges commented that her exhibit at the BA CREST Science Fair would happily sit in any science centre, and that she should be presenting a popular television programme about science.
Holly was one of over a hundred students taking part in the BA CREST Science Fair. Other winners included Galen Brown from Stromness Academy, Orkney, and Sable Campbell from Grosvenor Grammar School, Belfast. Concerned about climate change, Galen decided to do something about it and developed a gadget to solve the problem of energy wastage caused by leaving electrical equipment on standby. Sable came up with the idea for her project while working for a beauty product company during the summer – she became aware that people weren’t protecting their skin enough from sun damage and produced fashionable clothing and nail varnish that give an early visual warning of excess sun exposure.
‘We know that young people get a terrific boost from taking part in CREST awards, not just in developing their science and engineering knowledge and skills but also by working in teams and getting the opportunity to direct their projects,’ said Lord Browne of Madingley, President of the BA, which organizes the fair. ‘The CREST Science Fair adds another enjoyable dimension to this with the opportunity to compete and to connect with others. Events like this help with the decisions that these outstanding young people are going to make about their future careers. And they show young people how creative science and engineering can be.
‘I have been very impressed by the amazing range of innovative and creative projects on display. They represent the pinnacle of more than 28,000 BA CREST Awards presented over the year. In an age where we are constantly told about the problem of disaffected youth, the work displayed at the fair shows that we have much to celebrate about our young people.’
The BA would like to thank AstraZeneca and Research Councils UK for their sponsorship of CREST, and the Royal Society and Intel for their support with the event.
The complete list of winners is as follows:
The Best CREST Science Project at Bronze Level - First Prize
Anita McGargan, Brian Walters and Conor Breen - St Patrick's High School, Keady, Co. Armagh, Ireland
“MP3 Players: What are you getting?”
The Best CREST Science Project at Bronze Level - Second Prize
Ruari Jardine - Dollar Academy, Clackmannshire
“Does Shape Affect Speed?”
The Best CREST Science Project at Silver Level - First Prize
Nadia Hyder, Angel lin, Zenub Qulsoom and Bhanjeek Kaur Greal - Hutchesons' Grammar School, Glasgow
“Toilet Troubles”
The Best CREST Science Project at Silver Level - Second Prize
Stephanie Paul - Loreto College, Coleraine, Co. Derry
“In a Twist - The physics of Twisting Elastic”
The Best CREST Science Project at Gold Level - First Prize
Georgia Connolly - St Mary's School, Shaftesbury
“The Development of a method for the quantitative analysis of z-phenylethyl isothiocyanate (PEITC) in river water”
The Best CREST Science Project at Gold Level - Second Prize
Niamh O'Shea - Watford Grammar School for Girls, Watford
“An investigation into limb development in mouse embryos and the methods used for analysis”
The Best CREST Technology Project at Bronze Level - First Prize
Hannah Sheppard - Kent College, Pembury, Tunbridge Wells
“A Clown Costume for a Year 4 Student”
The Best CREST Technology Project at Bronze Level - Second Prize
Tom Harlow, Eddie Paris and Alex Price – John Port School, Etwall
“User Friendly Car Park”
The Best CREST Technology Project at Silver Level - First Prize
Daniel Briggs - Altrincham Grammar School, Cheshire
“The Glacier 360-TX: Now that's cool!”
The Best CREST Technology Project at Silver Level - Second Prize
Phil Cook, Trent College, Nottingham
“Solite - The Solar Powered Torch”
The Best CREST Technology Project at Gold Level - First Prize
Lucy Winzer, Chloe Brown, Katrina Holloway and Stacey Worrall - Highsted Grammar School, Sittingbourne
“Gum Busters - Removing Gum from the Streets”
The Best CREST Technology Project at Gold Level - Second Prize
Angharad Porteous, Ella Vogel, Robert Franks and Scott Malcaity - King Edward VI School, Morpeth
“Correction of a flight safety problem affecting the controls in a Sea King helicopter”
AstraZeneca Young Innovators Award Prize
Hannah Bradon - West Kirby Grammar School, West Kirby
“Characterization of Salmonella Typhimurium strains from UK Greenfinches”
Vicki Highland - Dame Alice Harpur School, Bedford
“Investigating Cancer - The optimisation of expression of sumo-cdc2”
Emma Thompson - Halesowen College, Halesowen
“The Effects of Stress on the Large Arteries”
Intel International Science and Engineering Fair Prize
Holly Batchelor - The Mary Erskine School, Edinburgh
“Cosmic Rain: Investigating Particles from Space”
EU Contest for Young Scientists Prize
Galen Brown - Stromness Academy, Orkney
“TV Saver - Solving the Standby Problem”
Mike Brownbill - Calday Grange Grammar School, West Kirby
“Ix, Ypsilon, Z”
Anna Ressel - Cardinal Newman College, Preston
“Absorption of Ions: Investigation into the Removal of Chromium Ions from Water”
The Adele Gurney Stockholm International Youth Science Seminar Prize
Georgia Connolly - St Mary's School, Shaftesbury
“The Development of a method for the quantitative analysis of z-phenylethyl isothiocyanate (PEITC) in river water”
London International Youth Science Forum Prize
Sable Campbell - Grosvenor Grammar School, Belfast
“Sunkissed”
Holly, who heads off to university this autumn and plans to study physics, said: ‘I had great fun doing this project. It gave me a great insight into what studying at university will be like and that there are many more branches to physics than you get to study at school. It was only supposed to be a six-week replacement, but I keep going back to the university where I did my project to help out.’
Thanks to the success of her project and her ability to impress the judges, Holly was awarded the Intel International Science & Engineering Fair (ISEF) prize at the BA CREST Science Fair. She will be the UK’s science entry in the ISEF competition to be held in Albuquerque, USA in May. Judges commented that her exhibit at the BA CREST Science Fair would happily sit in any science centre, and that she should be presenting a popular television programme about science.
Holly was one of over a hundred students taking part in the BA CREST Science Fair. Other winners included Galen Brown from Stromness Academy, Orkney, and Sable Campbell from Grosvenor Grammar School, Belfast. Concerned about climate change, Galen decided to do something about it and developed a gadget to solve the problem of energy wastage caused by leaving electrical equipment on standby. Sable came up with the idea for her project while working for a beauty product company during the summer – she became aware that people weren’t protecting their skin enough from sun damage and produced fashionable clothing and nail varnish that give an early visual warning of excess sun exposure.
‘We know that young people get a terrific boost from taking part in CREST awards, not just in developing their science and engineering knowledge and skills but also by working in teams and getting the opportunity to direct their projects,’ said Lord Browne of Madingley, President of the BA, which organizes the fair. ‘The CREST Science Fair adds another enjoyable dimension to this with the opportunity to compete and to connect with others. Events like this help with the decisions that these outstanding young people are going to make about their future careers. And they show young people how creative science and engineering can be.
‘I have been very impressed by the amazing range of innovative and creative projects on display. They represent the pinnacle of more than 28,000 BA CREST Awards presented over the year. In an age where we are constantly told about the problem of disaffected youth, the work displayed at the fair shows that we have much to celebrate about our young people.’
The BA would like to thank AstraZeneca and Research Councils UK for their sponsorship of CREST, and the Royal Society and Intel for their support with the event.
The complete list of winners is as follows:
The Best CREST Science Project at Bronze Level - First Prize
Anita McGargan, Brian Walters and Conor Breen - St Patrick's High School, Keady, Co. Armagh, Ireland
“MP3 Players: What are you getting?”
The Best CREST Science Project at Bronze Level - Second Prize
Ruari Jardine - Dollar Academy, Clackmannshire
“Does Shape Affect Speed?”
The Best CREST Science Project at Silver Level - First Prize
Nadia Hyder, Angel lin, Zenub Qulsoom and Bhanjeek Kaur Greal - Hutchesons' Grammar School, Glasgow
“Toilet Troubles”
The Best CREST Science Project at Silver Level - Second Prize
Stephanie Paul - Loreto College, Coleraine, Co. Derry
“In a Twist - The physics of Twisting Elastic”
The Best CREST Science Project at Gold Level - First Prize
Georgia Connolly - St Mary's School, Shaftesbury
“The Development of a method for the quantitative analysis of z-phenylethyl isothiocyanate (PEITC) in river water”
The Best CREST Science Project at Gold Level - Second Prize
Niamh O'Shea - Watford Grammar School for Girls, Watford
“An investigation into limb development in mouse embryos and the methods used for analysis”
The Best CREST Technology Project at Bronze Level - First Prize
Hannah Sheppard - Kent College, Pembury, Tunbridge Wells
“A Clown Costume for a Year 4 Student”
The Best CREST Technology Project at Bronze Level - Second Prize
Tom Harlow, Eddie Paris and Alex Price – John Port School, Etwall
“User Friendly Car Park”
The Best CREST Technology Project at Silver Level - First Prize
Daniel Briggs - Altrincham Grammar School, Cheshire
“The Glacier 360-TX: Now that's cool!”
The Best CREST Technology Project at Silver Level - Second Prize
Phil Cook, Trent College, Nottingham
“Solite - The Solar Powered Torch”
The Best CREST Technology Project at Gold Level - First Prize
Lucy Winzer, Chloe Brown, Katrina Holloway and Stacey Worrall - Highsted Grammar School, Sittingbourne
“Gum Busters - Removing Gum from the Streets”
The Best CREST Technology Project at Gold Level - Second Prize
Angharad Porteous, Ella Vogel, Robert Franks and Scott Malcaity - King Edward VI School, Morpeth
“Correction of a flight safety problem affecting the controls in a Sea King helicopter”
AstraZeneca Young Innovators Award Prize
Hannah Bradon - West Kirby Grammar School, West Kirby
“Characterization of Salmonella Typhimurium strains from UK Greenfinches”
Vicki Highland - Dame Alice Harpur School, Bedford
“Investigating Cancer - The optimisation of expression of sumo-cdc2”
Emma Thompson - Halesowen College, Halesowen
“The Effects of Stress on the Large Arteries”
Intel International Science and Engineering Fair Prize
Holly Batchelor - The Mary Erskine School, Edinburgh
“Cosmic Rain: Investigating Particles from Space”
EU Contest for Young Scientists Prize
Galen Brown - Stromness Academy, Orkney
“TV Saver - Solving the Standby Problem”
Mike Brownbill - Calday Grange Grammar School, West Kirby
“Ix, Ypsilon, Z”
Anna Ressel - Cardinal Newman College, Preston
“Absorption of Ions: Investigation into the Removal of Chromium Ions from Water”
The Adele Gurney Stockholm International Youth Science Seminar Prize
Georgia Connolly - St Mary's School, Shaftesbury
“The Development of a method for the quantitative analysis of z-phenylethyl isothiocyanate (PEITC) in river water”
London International Youth Science Forum Prize
Sable Campbell - Grosvenor Grammar School, Belfast
“Sunkissed”
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