Scoil Mhuire gan Smál, Blarney win Merck Annual Schools’ Science Competition
A team of students from Scoil Mhuire gan Smál, Blarney have been chosen as the winners of the 22nd Annual Schools’ Sciences Competition hosted by Merck, a leading global science and technology company.
Malachy Burns and Conor Walsh won the prestigious Annual Schools’ Science Competition for their project titled Can We Use Machine Learning To Design More Efficient Hydroelectric Turbines? Malachy and Conor explored the use of machine learning software and fluid dynamics to design hydroelectric turbines. Traditional hydroelectric turbines are designed specifically for the area in which they are placed to generate optimal energy output, and are manually designed by an engineer, making it a time consuming and costly process. This project argued that by using machine learning algorithms, turbine design can be accelerated at a cheaper cost and made more accessible to third world nations with large water networks.
Second place went to Samuel Delea and Leon Saich from Colaiste Fionnchua, Mitchelstown
wIth their project Designing a Prosthetic Arm. Samuel and Leon explored how robotics can make a positive difference to people’s lives using a functional demonstration model that brought the concept of assistive technology to life. The team developed a concept for a prosthetic arm with key design goals, designed the prosthetic arm and got the concept developed and made for demonstration. The students deeply researched the Robotics industry and how it can transform people’s lives as part of.
Held at Fota Island Resort, this Annual Schools’ Sciences Competition offers students from secondary schools across Cork an opportunity to highlight their STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) expertise and ingenuity in a rewarding, exciting and supportive environment. The competition encourages students to explore scientific concepts and develop practical solutions through innovative science projects, which are presented to an expert panel of judges from both industry and academia. Volunteers from Merck worked with the students as mentors on their projects, offering real life experience and expertise.
The full list of participating schools and projects were:
- Scoil Mhuire gan Smál, Blarney – Can we use Machine Learning to design more efficient Hydroelectric Turbines? ( First Place)
- Colaiste Fionnchua, Mitchelstown – Designing a Prosthetic Arm (Second Place)
- Midleton CBS – The positive effect of dynamic warmups on countermovement jumping
- Midleton College – Behavioural Analysis of Jaywalking
- St. Aloysius College, Carrigtwohill – Biofilm Inhibition
- St. Mary’s High School, Midleton – Footsteps vs. Footprints: Cutting Carbon on the Way to School
Over the past few months these schools each held their own mini competitions, with the winner progressing to today’s Annual Schools’ Sciences Competition. The schools were each visited three times by Merck mentors, who assessed the progress, provided feedback on projects, and served as judges to decide each school’s winner and representative.
Through this initiative, Merck aims to inspire the next generation of scientists and innovators, cultivate interest in STEM and encourage students to explore future careers in these critically important fields. A number of talks were also given at the various events by Merck employees across a variety of functions, giving these exceptional students an insight into what a career in STEM entails and what it is like to work at the forefront of STEM innovation with Merck.
Karen O’Connor, Head of Cork Operations at Merck said: “At Merck, we strongly believe that a STEM education has the power to change the world for the better. By offering students the opportunity to exercise their curiosity and investigate the unknown through science, this competition plays a key role in inspiring the next generation of STEM leaders to deliver the scientific breakthroughs of tomorrow”.Malachy Burns and Conor Walsh, Scoil Mhuire gan Smál, Blarney, the winners of this year’s competition, said: “We’re delighted to have been chosen as the winners of this year’s Merck Schools’ Sciences Competition. Taking part has been a great experience, teaching us a lot about what a career in STEM looks like and what it makes possible. We want to thank our school for their support and Merck for their guidance and giving us the opportunity to explore the world through science”.
