South Africa: Participation at Intel ISEF

SOUTH AFRICAN STUDENTS OUTSHINES AT THE MOST PRESTIGIOUS INTEL INTERNATIONAL SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING FAIR IN THE WORLD WHICH WAS HELD IN PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA, USA, 13 – 18 MAY 2012

 

The Intel International Science and Engineering Fair include some of the most promising rising student entrepreneurs, innovators and scientists from around the world. Finalists are selected annually from hundreds of affiliated fairs. Their projects are then evaluated onsite by more than 1 200 judges from nearly every scientific discipline, each with a Ph.D. or the equivalent of six years of related professional experience in one of the scientific disciplines.

 

Eskom Expo congratulates all our students who represented South Africa and made theircountry proud in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, this year. The levels of quality and effort these youngsters put into their projects were clear. They demonstrate how a background in science, technology, engineering and mathematic education creates the breeding ground for creativity and ingenuity that will help solve the pressing issues of the future.

 

The winners for South Africa came from Cape Town, Grahamstown, Vereeniging, Ladysmith and Boksburg. This year, more than 1 500 young scientists were chosen to compete in the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair. They were selected from 446 affiliate fairs in approximately 70 countries, regions and territories. The competition encourages millions of students to engage their skills for innovation and develop promising solutions for global challenges.

 

A bright fifteen-year-old student from Cape Town’s Springfield Convent School received second place at the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair in Pittsburg, USA. Sasha Holloway’s marine animal project ensured her collecting R12 000 in prize money. Her study focused on how activity rhythms of a small crustacean were linked to tidal patterns and other environmental factors.

 

Vivienne Dames, a sixteen-year-old student from Victoria Girls’ High School in Grahamstown, represented the Eastern Cape at the science fair with a project that offers an environmentally friendly solution to use a cleaning textile dye safe for agricultural irrigation. Her efforts placed her third in the Environmental Management category and she received prize money worth R8 000.

 

Eighteen-year old Hearn Johnson’s from Vereeniging, his mechanical engineering project to manufacture functional prosthetic limbs more affordably also came in third place for which he received R8 000 in prize money.

 

KwaZulu-Natal student Chene’ Mostert’s project to eliminate bacteria on the toothbrushes received rave reviews last week at the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair in Pittsburg, USA. It was no surprise then that the bright seventeen-year-old student from Ladysmith High School was awarded with first prize and R16 000 from the American Dental Association Foundation.

 

Sixteen-year old Boksburg resident, Brandon Ramnath, from Christian brothers College was placed third for his educational board game that assists hi gh school students in studying and achieving better marks. He also received R4 000 in prize money from the American Psychological Association.