The Kerryman (South Kerry Edition)
Young Scientists flying high
AFTER months of hard work and diligent preparation it proved to be a memorable week for Kerry students at the 2018 BT Young Scientists & Technology Exhibition which took place at Dublin’s RDS before record crowds. A total of 16 countywide projects was evidence of a wealth of knowledge and talent in the field of science and technology in Kerry.
But three pupils from St Brendan’s College in Killarney will perhaps remember the week that bit more as Harry & James Knoblauch and Oran O’Donoghue’s won the ‘Social and Behavioural Sciences’ group, as well as national runner-up in the Best Group category. Also flying the flag for St Brendan’s College were Colm Looney, Darragh Fleming and Ethan O’Neill who won a ‘National Parks and Wildlife Services Award’ for their study on the risks posed by wandering deer on our roads.
The students are still evolving this project which assesses the way technology and phone apps helps identify high-risk areas that can be identified using ‘Smart Signage’.
The pupils were presented with their award by Minister for Education and Skills, Richard Bruton and the accolades made for an exciting Monday morning at St Brendan’s College as the entire school assembled to honour their achievements.
The national runner-up in the Best Group project focused on how minorities can influence conformity; an idea that first hatched during a Ryanair flight when, on landing, one person clapped and influenced the rest of the plane to follow suit. This immediately got Oran, James and Harry interested in how one person can influence many people. And if you want a good example of the old adage ‘keep calm and carry on’, then these boys are a case in point as all had projects rejected in their first and second years at St Brendan’s.
Harry Knoblauch told The Kerryman on Monday morning that ‘conformity’ is one word that kept coming up during their research and they discovered very little research existed on ‘minority influence’. They used a series of tests and props within their own school to demonstrate how group-think and minority influence works.
“To assign a critical evaluator in such cases where organisations and groups meet is just one way of minimising the risks of group-think and conformity,” said Harry.
“Take social media, where labelling can kill argument and perpetuate a bad cycle of conformity. We hope our project can help prevent such cases of conformity in the future,” he added.
“We’re delighted and their success is a product of years of hard work by the boys, their teachers and their parents - all of whom have put huge mileage into this,” said St Brendan’s Principal Sean Coffey.
“The pupils have a curiosity and resilience of mind that is admirable in young people. We don’t always get rewarded in life for our hard work but, on this occasion, both projects got the recognition they deserved,” he said.
The trip to the capital also proved fruitful for three other Kerry schools who were placed in their respective categories. Mercy Mounthawk in Tralee took third place in the Senior Group in Social and Behavioural Sciences where Olivia Moriarty and Tamila Khussainova investigated teaching and learning methods of Junior Cycle Physics and the promotion of STEM subjects for girls. Robin Porter, also Mercy Mounthawk, was Highly Commended for his project on the development of an antimicrobial smartphone screen protector.
Also in Tralee, CBS The Green celebrated third place in the Intermediate Group Technology section for investigating the ways coding and smart technology can help to improve the quality of life for visually impaired people. This project was the work of Kian Trant, Seamus Knightly and Conor Crowley.
Meanwhile, Minister Mc Entee presented the Gorta-Self Help Africa and Irish Aid Award to Timothy McGrath, Killorglin Community College, for his project helping to purify water supply in the Third World.