Students’ research rewarded with cash prizes

Talented school students from around NZ were presented with awards totalling more than $30,000 recently for science and technology research projects they had completed.

The winning projects included a device to alleviate back pain from bad posture, a study on the ideal temperature and amount of food required when transporting bees, and a remote controlled lawn mower.

The top prize went to Stanley Roache of Onslow College in Wellington who won the Genesis Energy Supreme Award of a $7,000 cash scholarship and an all expenses paid trip to the London International Youth Science Forum later this year. His winning project on optical tubes looked at explaining the development of coloured rings and bands that appear inside polished metal tubes.

Outstanding awards were won by Jake Martin of Cambridge High School and Nicole Steele of Morrinsville College who each received $5000.

Jake’s project looked at the magnetism of biocarbon, and Nicole studied the effectiveness of antibiotic treatment for mastitis in dairy cows.

A total of 11 awards were announced at the Genesis Energy Realise the Dream prize giving at Te Marae, Te Papa.

Realise the Dream is organised by the Royal Society of NZ (RSNZ) and celebrates top school students who have carried out an excellent piece of research or technological development.

Chief executive of the RSNZ, Dr Di McCarthy said the students’ work was of an extremely high standard and the winners were very deserving.

“We believe it is vital that science is seen as a valuable career path at an early age. Realise the Dream rewards and encourages students to develop their investigative skills and come up with original work and this year was no exception.”

The prize giving followed on from the RSNZ’s Realise the Dream event which saw 29 students spend five days in Wellington in December as a reward for their earlier outstanding achievements in science and technology research projects.

The dinner was attended by the Governor-General Sir Anand Satyanand and the
minister of Research, Science & Technology Dr Wayne Mapp.