BT YOUNG SCIENTIST COMPETITION EXHIBITION

This week sees the return of the BT Young Scientist and Techology Exhibition to the RDS from the 12th to the 15th of January.

The exhibition, in it's 47th year, is the final stage of a nationwide science competition which is open to all second level students both north and south of the border.

The first competition was held in 1965 in the Round Room of the Mansion House in Dublin and attracted 230 entries. The first ever winner, John Monaghan, has recently retired as Chief Executive Officer of Avigen, a US Biotech company. The success of the first year was such that the exhibition moved to the much larger venue of the RDS in year two and it has remained there ever since.

Students pick from four Project Categories including Social Behavioral Science and Technology. The winner of the competition goes on to represent Ireland in a European competition, which was won by Donal Keane from Abbey Grammer School, Newry, in 1993.

The competition can act as springboard to much greater things for the participants. Indeed Patrick Collinson from Castletroy College, Limerick, who won for his Croma - "A New Dialect of Lisp" in 2005 went on to study in MIT Boston and founded a company called Auctomatic which was subsequently sold for $5 million.

Entries into this year's BT Young Scientist and Technology Exhibition include "Ultraviolet Perception of Colours by Birds" by St Aloysius College, Cork; "Can fuel tax replace road tax" by Mary Immaculate Secondary School, Lisdoonvarna, Co Clare and "A walking aid for the visually impaired" by Abbey Christian Brothers School, Co Down.

Richard O’Shea, 18 year old sixth year student from Scoil Mhuire Gan Smal, Blarney, Co Cork was the winner of the BT Young Scientist & Technology Exhibition 2010 with his project entitled, “A biomass fired cooking stove for developing countries”.

See listed below all the awards that will be made at the BT Young Scientist & Technology Exhibition 2011:
BT Young Scientist(s) of the Year 2011 Individual or Group
• BT Young Scientist(s) of the Year Trophy (perpetual).
• Cheque for €5,000 / £4,500.
• The chance to represent Ireland at the European Union Contest for Young Scientists.
Best Individual or Best Group.
• BT Trophy (perpetual).
• Cheque for €2,400 / £2,160.
Runner-up Individual and Runners-up Group
• BT Trophy (perpetual).
• Cheque for €1,200 / £1,080.

Special rates available at the Grand Canal Hotel are as follows:

Single Room €59.00 incl. Full Irish Breakfast
Twin Room €72.00 incl. Full Irish Breakfast
Triple Room €99.00 incl. Full Irish Breakfast.

Contact 01-6461000 to book.

Good luck to everyone involved.

DM.