2001 Genesis Energy National Science and Technology Fair

Burnt fish fingers. An elderly lady stuck in a ditch and wobbly rugby balls! These were some of the ideas that inspired the scientists and technologists of tomorrow. They have led to smoke alarms that can switch off ovens, walking sticks complete with torch and alarms, and a formula that shows how imbalance in a rugby ball will affect a top player's game.

Twenty six young people from around New Zealand participated in the 2001 Genesis Energy National Science and Technology Fair in Hamilton at the Exscite Centre in December. They had qualified as winners from their regional science and technology fair.

Competition was keen, but not just Kiwi ingenuity on show, there were also overseas exhibits from Namibia, San Diego and Taiwan.

During the 5 day stay in Hamilton the participants went through rigorous judging but also had a great deal of fun with the activities which were planned for them, including Black Water Rafting, a river boat cruise, a trip to Rotorua and visits to research institutes.

The award ceremony, hosted by the Exscite Centre and MC'd by well known bug man Ruud Kleinpaste was packed to the brim with people. The Hon Pete Hodgson was also in attendance and presented awards as well as Mr Barry Dent the inaugural premier award winner in 1977. A cake cutting service took place at the end of the award ceremony to mark the silver anniversary of National Science and Technology Fairs.

The winners of their awards are listed as follows:

Genesis Energy Premier Award for Science

Michael Walmsley, aged 16 from Church College in Hamilton

Michael's project grew out of his love for cricket and his desire to be a better batsman. He designed a piece of equipment to hit a ball consistently and then investigated the effect of several factors on the flight of a ball; the speed of the ball when it hits the bat; the position on the bat where the ball strikes; the type of ball and the type of bat. His research has many implications for the sport of cricket. His method could be used for testing bats and for allowing cricketers to select the best bat for them.

Michael's prize allows him to travel to either the USA Space Camp or the London Youth International Science Forum.

Genesis Energy Premier Award for Technology

Jeremy Clark, aged 13 from Whakatane Intermediate School

Jeremy has been an insulin dependant diabetic for most of his life. Diabetics need to rotate the position of injection sites to prevent lumps from forming that could interfere with insulin absorption. Jeremy has designed a guide which has helped him remember to rotate injection sites and found that this reduced the lumps dramatically as well as giving significantly better diabetes control. After gaining ethics approval Jeremy invited other diabetics to be part of his trial and designed custom made guides based on abdomen size.

Jeremy's prize also allows him to travel to the USA Space Camp or the London Youth International Science Forum.

Genesis Energy Excellence Award in Science ($2,500 Education Scholarship)

Karen Brooks, Hibiscus Coast Intermediate aged 13

Karen has become fascinated by the two-spined spider, a recent immigrant from Australia. As a result of her research Karen can now tell us much more about the spider due to months and months of observations including 3 weeks of getting up at 3am in the morning studying the behaviour of this particular spider.

Genesis Energy Excellence Award in Technology ($2,500 Education Scholarship)

Neftaly Hernandez, age 14 from Pompallier College in Whangarei

After hearing of the plight of an elderly woman who fell in a ditch, Neftaly designed a safety walking stick to not only provide support but also a light and an alarm. This was the start in a series of Safetysticks, all with a slightly different client in mind.

Other awards were:

The New Zealand Science Educators Award ($1,000 scholarship)

Kali Stratford, aged 14 from Marlborough Girls' College

Kali investigated the new 40mm table tennis ball. She carried out extensive tests on speed, spin control and spectator visibility.

The Institution of Professional Engineers of New Zealand Award (Trip to Taiwan Science Fair)

Richard Graham aged 18, Nelson College

Richard investigated in finding a relationship between electromagnetism and gravitation. He used two experiments to do this.

The National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research Ltd Award ($1,000 education scholarship)

Thomas Kiff, aged 16 from Springbank School, Northland

As a holiday job, Tom worked in a sail loft producing land yacht sails. Some of the patches for the sails needed a black sticky tape stuck down one side, exactly on the edge. This particular process was tedious and as this was the only sail loft making the land yacht sails no one had a machine to this job. Tom designed a machine to put the tape on the sails and another to ensure sail patches were accurately cut. He was mindful of the need for efficiency and economy in his designs.

Royal Society of New Zealand James Duncan Award

Graeme Fielder, aged 16, the Manurewa High School

Graeme investigated cancer fighting properties found in New Zealand marine fungi. He collected marine fungi from the woody tissue of dead mangroves in the Mangere Inlet. He isolated enzymes from the fungi and tested them with four bacteria.

Royal Society of New Zealand Technology Award

Jack Pivac aged 15 and Timothy Marshall aged 16 from Opunake High School

Timothy and Jack used a PC parallel port interface controller to help them design a heat recovery system that would work in a domestic situation. Their programme enabled them to monitor the heat in waste household water for a week using thermistors to log the temperature changes.

The Electricity Supply Industry Training Organisation Award

James Canny, aged 15 from Verdon College, Southland

James has made a transmitter called the Hazard Alert Beacon. It is designed to reduce accidents and save lives. The transmitter is placed in a hazardous area whether it is black ice, dangerous corners, sports competitions or road maintenance. The transmitter, which is fully equipped with a solar panel and a deep-cycle battery emits a high frequency signal for a diameter of approximately 800 metres. When you approach the hazardous area a small receiver beeps and warns you that you are approaching hazardous road conditions.