SciFest Ezine, Volume 5, Number 4, May 2014

SCIFEST EZINE May 2014

SciFest Ezine, Volume 5, Number 4

SciFest students are winners at Intel International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF) in Los Angeles Conor Foy from Coláiste Chiaráin, Croom in Limerick and Paul Clarke from St Paul’s College, Raheny in Dublin represented Ireland and SciFest at the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF) 2014 and came away with a total of three awards. Conor and Paul qualified to compete at Intel ISEF by winning the two top prizes at the SciFest national final, SciFest@SFI Discover, in November last year.

Intel ISEF is the world’s largest international pre-college science competition, involving some 1,800 students from over 70 countries competing for a prize fund totalling $5million. The fair was held this year in Los Angeles from Sunday 11th May to Friday 16th May. Both students won Special Awards along with a monetary prize. Conor Foy claimed the top award of $2,500 from the Society for Experimental Mechanics, Inc (SEM) and Paul Clarke received an award of $250 from the American Mathematical Society (AMS). Conor also went on to win a category award, bringing his total winnings to $3,000.

“Intel ISEF is a fantastic plat-

form to allow Irish students to

exhibit their work on a global stage. Both projects are a reflection of what is possible when young people engage in a creative and practical

way with science, maths and engineering - all of us here at Intel Ireland would like to congratulate Paul and Conor on their great achievements.”

Brendan Cannon, Corporate Affairs Director, Intel Ireland

Paul Clarke was the overall national SciFest winner for his project that solved a problem related to the Travelling Salesman Problem, which has been baffling

In This Issue

Conor Foy and Paul Clarke, Intel ISEF 2014, Los Angeles

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SciFest 2014 - The numbers

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SciFest@SFI Discover

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SFI Best Project Award winners

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Long Night of Science in Berlin Award

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Smart Futures Careers Talks

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SciFest Website

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Contact Details and Sponsors

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SciFest 2014 More than 6000 students

expected to have participated April and May are traditionally very busy months for teachers. Finishing up with exam classes, TY nights, setting house exams, graduation ceremonies, school tours, etc.

The list is endless! Despite this heavy workload many science teachers still found time for what must be the last big event of the school year, SciFest@College.

Between the end of March and 6 June fifteen Conor Foy with his teacher Edel Farrell, Intel ISEF 2014, Los Angeles

mathematics since the 1930s. Conor Foy was chosen by Intel engineers to be the second SciFest representative after he came a very close second to Paul Clarke at the SciFest national final.

Conor’s project focussed on developing a system that can measure, display, transmit and record the timing difference between, and the force exerted by, a crew of rowers.

Commenting on the two students achievements, Prof Mark Ferguson, Director General, Science Foundation Ireland and Chief Scientific Adviser to the Government said: “It is great to see two Irish projects competing and achieving success on the international stage. I would like to congratulate both Paul and Conor on their achievement. Both projects were exceptional and they demonstrated how good both students are at thinking outside the box and most importantly that science can be exciting! Paul and Conor did Ireland proud at the Intel ISEF.”

SciFest@College science fairs will have been hosted by the fourteen Institutes of Technology and St Mary’s College, Derry. It is an exciting time, a challenge and a very worthwhile experience for the students involved .

SciFest@School in-school science fairs have been taking place throughout the school year. In 2013/2014 thirty-five schools hosted in-house SciFest@School science fairs. A total of 3154 students presented 1332 projects.

“It

is hard to overestimate the value that this day offers to the students. They have gained personal confidence and are very excited to see what’s in store for them in the world of third level education. They have returned to school with a great sense of enthusiasm for the future and have inspired other students to start thinking of projects. ” A comment from a teacher to

Dr Noreen Morris SciFest Regional Coordinator SciFest@AIT 2014

Paul Clarke

Conor Foy 2

SciFest@SFI

Discover 2014 SciFest national Final The Best Project Award winners from each of the 15 SciFest@ College 2014 venues will participate in a national final competition in the Marino Conference Centre, MIE, Griffith Avenue, Dublin on 7 November 2014.

There will be a number of awards presented including:

SFI Discover Intel ISEF Award

SFI Discover Best Project Award winner , SciFest@ITT 2014 Ria Reddy, Mount Anville Secondary School is cheered on by her excited school mates

“You’re off to great places! Today is your day! Your mountain is

waiting, So get on your way!”

Trophy and an all-expenses-paid trip for the winning student(s) and their teacher/mentor to represent Ireland at the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF) in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, May 2015.

Dr. Seuss

Sponsored by SFI Discover and Intel Ireland

Travel Award An all-expenses-paid trip for the winning student(s) and their teacher/ mentor to attend the Long Night of Science in Berlin in May 2015.

Supported by the Department of Foreign Affairs

Excellence in STEM Awards Engraved plaques

SFI Discover Best Project Award winners, SciFest@IT Tralee 2014 3 very talented brothers, James, Harry and Jack Knoblauch, St Brendan’s College, Killarney

Additional awards to be announced For further details on SciFest 2014 please check out the website www.scifest.ie.

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SciFest 2013

Berlin Long Night of Science Award

A report by Conor Begley, Coláiste Rís, Dundalk, Co. Louth 26 May 2014

Having departed from Dublin shortly after nine o’clock we arrived in Berlin at around ten o’clock local time. A member of the Irish Embassy staff met us at the airport and we were chauffer driven to our hotel. After being given advice on what to do in Berlin and told of the plans for the next few days we then were left to tour Berlin. We walked around the city of Berlin and saw famous sites like the Brandenburg Gate and the Berlin Wall. To end the tour we got to see a 360 panoramic of Berlin. It really is a very nice city.

The next day we were met by an Irish diplomat at our hotel. Then we were taken to Technischen Universität Berlin where we were introduced to the former president of the university, Professor Steinbach. He showed great interest in my EWOCHS project. Professor Steinbach also told us about the college and his career history. After a tour of the University and its impressive facilities we returned to the Embassy. We had time for a quick tour of the Embassy and got to meet the various diplomats there. Unfortunately the Ambassador was in a meeting. The diplomats took us to a local restaurant lunch where the conversation turned to my project and SciFest as well as different aspects of Ireland.

On completion of the meal we were brought to the Reichstag, the German parliament. The architecture was staggering and it was interesting to learn about the workings of the German parliament. On completion of the tour, we went back into Berlin City Centre.

The next morning, we went to the German Museum of Engineering and Science. It was very interesting. The tour focused on the developments of the transport industry, the technology sector and even science in general. When we were finished we then met up with another diplomat from the Embassy and made our way to the Humboldt University, for the opening of the Long Night of Science. Unfortunately the entire opening was in German, but we could understand parts and it was interactive, so it was still interesting. We then went back to the Technischen Universität Berlin for the VIP tour of the Long Night of Science. On the tour, we got to meet many important people, like the current university president and chancellor as well as the organiser of the Long Night of Science. Unfortunately the talks we attended were in German, but we understood parts of it and there were lots of diagrams, etc. so we still took in a lot of it.

The lectures were very interesting and they went on until around one o’clock in the morning.

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For our final day in Berlin, we went on an open bus tour of the city. The tour was a great way to see the city and was filled with interesting facts about the city. After this, we got a train to the airport, and flew home. Overall, it was a fantastic trip. We got to see the city of Berlin and learn all about what’s going on in the world of Science in Berlin. It was a very worthwhile trip and I really appreciate SciFest for giving me the chance to go to the Long Night of Science. I would also like to thank the Irish Embassy staff in Berlin for looking after us so well and the Department of Foreign Affairs for sponsoring the award.

NOTE: Conor Begley won the Berlin Long Night of Science Award at the national final of SciFest 2013 which was held in the Science Gallery, Trinity College last November

Smart Futures Careers Talks SciFest 2014 was delighted to partner with Smart Futures this year in offering STEM careers talks for students attending 10 of the 15 regional SciFest events in the Institutes of Technology.

Smart Futures is a collaborative government-industry framework initiative promoting science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) careers to post primary students in Ireland, providing students, teachers, guidance counsellors and parents with resources and information on the opportunities open to STEM graduates and the skills required by Industry.

Smart Futures is coordinated by SFI Discover, the education and outreach programme of Science Foundation Ireland (SFI), in partnership with Engineers Ireland’s education outreach programme, STEPS.

SciFest@ITT 2014 Smart Futures Careers Talks ‘Best question’ award winner Alex Wall , Sandford Park School, Dublin with speaker Duke Urch, Abbott

DID YOU KNOW That a wide range of resources may be found on the SciFest website?

These include:

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A SciFest STEM Fairs Toolkit to support teachers and students in developing projects and to support schools in organising a SciFest@School science fair

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2 student modules:

 ‘A Beginner’s Guide to doing a SciFest Project’  Transition Year module - Science by Inquiry’

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SciFest Why get involved

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SciFest Support Panel

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SciFest testimonials

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SciFest National Final Project Abstracts 2011—2013

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Science Fairs in Ireland—Information for Teachers (All you need to know about participating in a science fair in Ireland) 5

www.scifest.ie

Contact us

Contact us

Sheila Porter

George Porter

CEO, SciFest Ltd t: (+353) 86 379 6143

Assistant CEO, SciFest Ltd t: (+353) 87 798 7885

e: sheila.porter@scifest.ie

e: george.porter@scifest.ie

www.scifest.ie Promoting excellence in STEM education

SciFest would like to take this opportunity to thank the following for their continued support of the SciFest project.

Partners and sponsors

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The Institutes of Technology and St Mary’s College, Derry

Institute of Physics and the Department of Foreign Affairs 

SciFest regional coordinators

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Teachers

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Judges

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Parents

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Students

Have a lovely summer and looking forward to working with you again in September

The SciFest Team