Europe’s brightest science students, who became winners on country level are getting ready to showcase their latest innovations at this year’s Intel International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF), the largest international pre-college science competition. Joining more than 1,500 young innovators from 65 countries worldwide, our teams will be gathering in Pittsburgh, US on 13th– 18th May 2012, to compete for the $75,000 first prize award.
With anticipation building for this year’s Intel ISEF, let’s remind ourselves of what we can expect from the event. For example, last year’s Intel ISEF winners, Matthew Feddersen and Blake Marggraff of Lafayette, Calif. scooped the top prize for developing a cancer treatment that places tin metal near a tumour before radiation therapy. The result was potentially more effective and less expensive than existing treatments at the time.
Another great example of science-based ingenuity is the winning team’s entry at the Intel Sci-preneurship 24 Hour Student Contest: a microscope device that determines how close food is to expiry by integrating nanotechnology and image recognition technologies. And demonstrating that science competitions can inspire young people to take up science-based studies, Maria Teresa Bezem’s (Norway), a member of the contest’s winning team, went on to complete a Master’s degree in Nanotechnology after participating in the competition.
Supporting STEM subjects enables students make a positive impact on society and given the calibre of previous Intel ISEF entries, we can’t wait to see what this year’s students have in store; do check back to the Intel Newsroom Europe in the coming weeks for updates!