Inspiring this generation
St. Bon’s student Jasmine Rahman showcases science project at 2nd annual 2018 Prime Minister’s Science Fair
“There were so many amazing projects. There was one done from a student in Quebec that was the best I saw. He developed a working 3-D heart that can be used and transplanted into a person. That was amazing.’’ Jasmine Rahman
There is no time like the present for helping to forge a future, and that purpose was evidenced Sept. 19 at the 2nd annual 2018 Prime Minister’s Science Fair held in Ottawa featuring the brightest young minds Canada has to offer.
One of those students was Jasmine Rahman, a Grade 10 student at St. Bon’s in St. John’s.
She was one of 35 students selected out of 500 to be part of the PM’S Science Fair that highlighted some of the best and brightest young Canadians in the subjects of science, technology, engineering and math (STEM).
The young scientists were award winners from their respective regional and national science fairs and Stem-related contests across the country.
The event was an opportunity for Canada’s brightest young talent to connect and learn more about each other’s work and to discuss their projects with Prime Minister Justice Trudeau and Minister of Science and Sport Kirsty Duncan.
“Congratulations to the young scientists, researchers and innovators who participated in the year’s Prime Minister’s Science Fair,” Duncan said in a news release following the event.
“The incredible work they showcased (Sept. 19) is an inspiration to people of all ages across Canada and demonstrates what can be accomplished with hard work, determination and encouragement. Their inventions, curiosity and creativity have the potential to build a better world for us all,” she added.
Jasmine’s biography is a full one for someone in Grade 10. She says science and math are her favourite subjects, in addition to being a competitive tennis player and playing multiple instruments at school and in her spare time.
“My science project was inspired by Dr. Kelly Hawboldt, a professor at Memorial University, who’s interest in the sustainable processing and extraction of natural resources, from forestry residues to
offshore oil and gas to the food industry.”
It made Jasmine think of a number of ways she could develop something that would make a difference.
“She provided me with valuable processed organic wastes called biochar and fish hydrolysate,’’ Jasmine said. “I tried to find the optimal combination of the two wastes and tested to see if the enhanced plant growth used in this combination was due to an increased
the microbial diversity,’’ she added.
Jasmine said her preliminary results were interesting, but she needs to go further into the study to confirm her findings.
In addition, she said she would also like to compare her product against a commercial fertilizer.
Aims to help farming
Her project — Optimizing Plant Growth Efficiency by Strategically Combining Organic
Waste — saw her combine the biochar and fish hydrolysate to produce a substance that would enhance plant growth.
“Growing plants in Newfoundland is a challenge. We have a short growing season and a poor quality of soil,’’ Jasmine said.
“I wanted to develop something that will help farmers to grow crops in Newfoundland,” she added.
Fish hydrosolysate is produced through a chemical process of decomposition involving the splitting of a bond and the addition of the hydrogen cation and the hydroxide anion of water.
It is a great product that promotes plant growth, as it is high in nitrogen and helps feed the microbes that promote plant growth.
“We always were doing things at home to protect the environment, so I wanted to do something that did that and also find a way to help the farmers,’’ she said.
So she went out and secured hydrosolysate and started her research by planting radishes. Rahman said she only had a short time frame to conduct her research, so she chose the radish as a good test crop.
She had two sets of plants, one done under optimal controls with hydrosolysate added to the soil and the second done with just normal soil.
“I found that ones I planted with hydrosolysate grew faster than the ones in normal soil.”
She took that information and decided to present her findings for the Eastern School District Of Newfoundland and Labrador’s science fair held in April 2017.
Jasmine’s work was first recognized at the 2018 Husky Energy Eastern Newfoundland Science and Technology Fair, where she won Best in Fair and became one of six students selected from the 130 that competed at the regional fair to represent eastern N.L. at the Canada Wide Science Fair in Ottawa last May.
All six students came away from that event with medals.