the-BA : YSEF08 winners

Student enjoying the hands-on area at the Young Scientists' and Engineers' Fair

There can’t be many A-Level students who can say they have contributed to the understanding of the formation of both the Earth and Moon, but 17-year-old Elisabeth Muller is an exception. And there’s no doubt that her project analysing the mineralogy of a lunar meteorite has opened doors for her after she won two amazing awards at the prestigious UK Young Scientists’ and Engineers’ Fair organised by the BA (British Association for the Advancement of Science) and held at the Centre of the Cell in London on Friday (7 March).

Not only will Bedford High School student Elisabeth now get to represent the UK at the European Union Contest for Young Scientists in Copenhagen, alongside two other winners from the Fair, but she has also secured a place on a once-in-a-lifetime voyage on a research ship from New Zealand to the sub-Antarctic Islands.

Elisabeth conducted her six-week, Nuffield Bursary-funded project under the supervision of Dr Mahesh Anand at the Open University in Milton Keynes. After the Young Scientists’ and Engineers’ Fair she said: ‘I was shell-shocked when I heard my name called - I actually tripped down the stairs! I plan to study Geology when I go to university in September and I’m particularly excited about the trip to the sub-Antarctic because as a geologist I love fieldwork. I can’t wait!’

Other winners at the national fair included Alex White, 17, from The King’s School Chester. He was awarded the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF) prize to attend the world’s largest pre-college science competition in Atlanta, Georgia, USA, for his project analysing the synthesis and catalytic properties of a novel group of materials. He found that they have potential to be used as catalysts in safer, more environmentally friendly alternatives to chemical reactions widely used in the manufacture of pharmaceuticals.

Alex was very positive about his research experience, also Nuffield Bursary-funded, which consisted of four weeks working in Dr Andrew Fogg‘s research group at the University of Liverpool: ‘It was brilliant to be able to get into a lab and work with PhD students, using techniques and equipment you don’t have access to at A-Level. It reinforced that chemistry is the area I want to work in.’

Commenting on his prize, he added: ‘I’m taken aback and overjoyed at winning the Intel ISEF prize. I’m still taking in the huge scale of it. I spoke to two of the previous winners after the award ceremony and they told me what a hugely influential experience it had been in their lives. I’m really looking forward to it.’

Sir David King, President of the BA said: ‘The achievement of the young people who gain these prizes is not just winning an exciting trip or a handsome trophy. In completing their projects they have been able to work like real scientists and engineers, and to find out for themselves how enjoyable and rewarding that can be. It is terrific to see this all come together at the Fair and I hope that many more young people will have this opportunity in the future.’

The Young Scientists’ and Engineers’ Fair 2008 took place on Friday 7 March, the first day of National Science and Engineering Week. The annual event celebrates the impressive accomplishments of students aged 11-19 participating in the CREST Awards and associated schemes. Students have the opportunity to win trips to prestigious international science fairs across the globe and receive cash prizes for themselves and their schools. Over 28,000 students aged 11-19 from across the UK participated in the CREST Award Scheme in 2007. 51 projects made it to the national fair after winning at one of 12 regional finals or via selection by a scientific review committee.

The complete list of winners is as follows:

The Best CREST Science Project at Bronze Level – Winner
Alex Christmas, Megan Peeks – Danesfield C of E School
‘Which Natural Dye is the Most Durable?’
The Best CREST Science Project at Bronze Level – Runner Up
Ffion Jones, Lucy Wainman, Lauren Nelson, Katherine Terris – Herts & Essex High School
‘Oust it Out!’
The Best CREST Science Project at Silver Level – Winner
Nicole Lynch, Aoife White – St Mary’s College, Derry
‘Red Versus Red’
The Best CREST Science Project at Silver Level – Runner Up
Rebecca Chroston – Dollar Academy
‘H5N1 – When, Not If!’
The Best CREST Science Project at Gold Level – Winner
Matthew Burnette – Stamford School
‘A Microscope Study of Brain Endothelial Cell and Retinal Pigment Epithelium Cell Immune Function’
The Best CREST Science Project at Gold Level - Runner Up
David Vickers, Lindsey Flanagan – Calday Grange Grammar School & Carmel College (St Helens)
‘Measures of Binocular Vision’
The Best CREST Technology Project at Bronze Level – Winner
Peter Briggs, Darrel Hollands – John Port School
‘Steps to Ramp – Multi Access System’
The Best CREST Technology Project at Bronze Level - Runner Up
Sumayya Ibrahim, Priya Master, Henna Soni – Moor Park Business & Enterprise School
‘Laser Jewellery Design’
The Best CREST Technology Project at Silver Level – Winner
Georgina Little – Kent College Pembury
‘Road Safety for Children’
The Best CREST Technology Project at Silver Level - Runner Up
Adam Sowden – Fearnhill School, Mathematics and Computer College
‘Child’s Door Alarm’
The Best CREST Technology Project at Gold Level – Winner
Zoe Collins, David Griffiths, Luca Floris, Simon Perry – St David’s Catholic College
‘Ultrasound Transducer – Comparative Test Fixture’
The Best CREST Technology Project at Gold Level - Runner Up
Lorna Filby, Louisa Gallimore, Kate Walters – Kesteven and Grantham Girls School
‘To Optimise a Product Design for an Automated Rotational Moulding Machine’
London International Youth Science Forum Prize
Jemille Gibson, Anxela Seferi – Highbury Grove and Elizabeth Garrett Anderson School
‘Nature Hits Back – An Investigation of Antibiotic Alternatives’
RCUK Laboratory Experience Prize
Dale Gaskell, Felix Millne – Range High School and Blue Coat School
‘A Study of the Possibility of Life in a Two-Star System Using Java Programming’

Sharon Glass – Park Main High School
‘Dispersibility and Particle Size Analysis of Organic Pigments’
Nuffield Foundation Stockholm International Youth Science Seminar Prize
Cherish Bird – Joseph Leckie Cte
‘Torbugesic vs. Vetergesic’
The European Union Contest for Young Scientists
Teleri Anne Edwards – Howells School
‘F.L.A.S.H – Five Laser Accentuated Security Holder’

Joshua Okhiria – Bury Grammar School
‘Investigation of CVB3 Targeted Golgi-Resident Guanine Nucleotide Exchange Factor, GBF1, for Myocarditis Research’

Elisabeth Muller – Bedford High School
‘From Microcosm to Magma Oceans: A Lunar Meteorite Perspective’
Intel International Science and Engineering Fair Prize
Alexander White – The King’s School Chester
‘Synthesis and Catalytic Behaviour of Layered Double Hydroxides’
Royal Society International Expedition Prize
James Stefaniak – Bablake School
‘Measurement of the Ultraviolet Spectral Content of Intense Pulsed Light Sources’

Elisabeth Muller – Bedford High School
‘From Microcosm to Magma Oceans: A Lunar Meteorite Perspective’
The Lloyd’s Register Educational Trust Teachers’ Prize
Dr Elizabeth Major, teacher at Mary Webb School and Science College

The BA would like to thank Lloyd's Register Educational Trust, Research Councils UK and AstraZeneca for their sponsorship, and Centre of the Cell for their kind provision of the venue.

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