Challenge aims to hook young scientists

‘‘We need more young people in science and disaster management.’’

Aotearoa’s future earthquake preparedness rests in the hands of the next generation of scientists – but we don’t have enough of them.

Last year, science and engineering were the predominant fields of study for just 8% and 9% of university students respectively, according to Ministry of Education statistics.

The numbers pale in comparison to the top fields of study – society and culture (29%) and management and commerce (19%).

In a bid to spark interest in science, technology, engineering and maths ( STEM) careers, Massey University has laid a challenge to Wellington secondary school students to design an earthquake alert system.

The competition, which kicked off on Monday, is hosted by Massey’s Crisis Response and Integrated Simulation Science Laboratory (CRISiSLab) and funded by the Earthquake Commission.

Students will work with a seismometer and generate live data to design a system that sends an alert when it detects ground movement.

CRISiSLab Challenge leader Dr Marion Tan said it is amazing to see what students achieve during the challenge, and to think what could be brought forward in the future of technology and earth sciences.

‘‘We need more young people in science and disaster management,’’ said Tan.

‘‘They’re the next generation of scientists and the link between innovation and our future preparedness.’’

Teams from schools in the Wellington region will vie for the top spot, and the winners will be awarded a summer internship with Massey’s CRISiSLab team.

Expectations are high after the success of last year’s challenge, said Tan, who has a PhD in emergency management.

‘‘We saw some innovative, effective and detailed earthquake alert systems, despite some students learning how to code for the first time during the challenge.’’

Last year’s winners were Ben Hong and Zade Viggers from Wellington College, who both said they learned a lot from the challenge.

‘‘I got experience with sockets, web APIs, and so much more,’’ said Hong.

For Viggers, the challenge meant he could try out new technologies he otherwise wouldn’t have.

‘‘It was an awesome experience and something I’ll never forget,’’ he said.

This year’s challenge will be taken on by students from Wellington College, Wellington High School, Wellington East Girls’ College, Taita College, Paraparaumu College, St Patrick’s College, St Mary’s College Wellington, and Te Kura Māori o Porirua.

Giving rangatahi exposure and the opportunity to learn about science technology opens the door to a world they may not have thought about yet, said EQC’s chief resilience and research officer Dr Jo Horrocks.

‘‘We’re excited to support such an important initiative that gives our young students access to some of New Zealand’s most renowned seismic experts,’’ Horrocks said.

CRISiSLab’s mission is to help advance technology-driven crisis management solutions.

It also supports students and researchers from universities and agencies to study the design, implementation, and evaluation of technological tools for crisis management.