Young scientists set to compete against world’s best
NINE of South Africa’s brightest young scientists are having their work cut out as they compete against their foreign peers for a whopping $4million (R50m) in prizes at the prestigious Intel International Science Fair (Isef) in Pittsburgh in the US.
They were selected on the basis of the outstanding science projects they presented at the local Eskom Expo for Young Scientists International Science Fair in October last year.
Three Capetonians – Frank Smuts, 18, Chase Newel and Gabriele Gess, both 17 – along with Rahil Ishan Samlal, 17, and Shreyah Ramluckan, 13, both from KwaZuluNatal, Martha Djan, 17, from North West, Alecia Brits, 18, from Kimberley, Kau Mohlamonyane, 17, from Mpumalanga, and Steven SachtLuwes, 17, from the Free State, will be going.
They were selected from 600 of South Africa’s future engineers, chemists, physicists, mathematicians and innovators who competed at the Eskom Expo – the country’s largest school-level science fair – for a chance to take home prizes worth more than R4m.
At the Eskom Expo they presented projects on topics such as finding alternative methods to cure bacterial infections and developing new materials to protect astronauts from UV light.
The nine, together with a support team of mentors from the Eskom Expo team, received an official send-off at OR Tambo International Airport, where Eskom’s group executive: generation and acting group executive: sustainability, Thava Govender, said: “You are heading off to compete in the World Cup of science fairs. You are going to represent South Africa and I want you to do that with pride.
“You have all worked incredibly hard to get here and you must remember that this is an incredibly exciting opportunity to learn new things, meet new people and expand your horizons.
“If you return with a prize, that is a bonus as this is a formative experience that sets you up to achieve great things in the science fields in the future.”
Intel Isef is the largest science fair in the world, and 1800 high school students from more than 75 countries, regions and territories are awarded the opportunity to showcase their independent research at the fair.
The executive director of the Eskom Expo, Parthy Chetty, said: “These learners have investigated some really interesting topics, and they all did so using reliable research methodology.
“They represent the cream of the crop, the best young scientists we have in South Africa.
“The Eskom Expo is all about encouraging and motivating young people to pursue careers in the fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics.
“We hope that by attending this international science fair they will be motivated to take their research to the next level.”