The future of Cork science in safe hands
A team of students from Scoil Mhuire gan Smál in Blarney has won a science competition after their research on hydroelectric turbines.
The competition encouraged students to explore scientific concepts and develop practical solutions through innovative science projects, offering real life experience and expertise.
The winners of the 22nd Merck Annual Schools Science Competition Malachy Burns and Conor Walsh presented a project titled Can We Use Machines to Design More Efficient Hydroelectric Turbines?.
The pair explored the use of machine learning software and fluid dynamics to design hydroelectric turbines.
The project argued that by using machine learning algorithms, turbine design can be accelerated at a cheaper cost and made more accessible to developing countries with large water networks.
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. This can make it a time-consuming and costly process.
They said that “taking part has been a great experience, teaching us a lot about what a career in STEM looks like and what it makes possible”.
The competition offered students from secondary schools across Cork an opportunity to highlight their STEM expertise and ingenuity in a rewarding, exciting, and supportive environment.
In second place were Samuel Delea and Leon Saich from Coláiste Fionnchua, Mitchelstown.
Their project - Designing a Prosthetic Arm - explored how robotics can make a positive difference to people’s lives using a functional demonstration model.
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.
In total, six schools took part in the event. They were Scoil Mhuire gan Smál, Blarney - Can We Use Machine Learning to Design more efficient Hydroelectric Turbines?; Coláiste Fionnchua - Designing a Prosthetic Arm; Midleton CBS - The Positive Effect of Dynamic Warmups on Countermovement Jumping; Midleton College - Behavioural Analysis of Jaywalking; St Aloysius College - Biofilm Inhibition and St Mary’s Highschool, Midleton - Footsteps vs. Footprints: CuttingCarbon on the Way to School.
Each school held its own mini competitions over the past few months, with the winner progressing on to the final of the 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.
Karen O’Connor, Head of Cork Operations at Merck, said the company strongly believes that “a STEM education has the power to change the word 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,” she said.