Chuck Bednar for redOrbit.com – @BednarChuck
Google has announced that it is now accepting entries for its annual Science Fair, and as a new batch of 13 to 18 year old geniuses look to compete for $100,000 in scholarships and classroom grants, we at redOrbit thought we’d take a look back at some of the amazing projects produced by some of the past winners.
2011
The grand prize of the first-ever Google Science fair went to 17-year-old Texas native Shree Bose, who looked at the role that the enzyme AMP-activated protein kinase played in causing women with ovarian cancer to develop a resistance to the chemotherapy drug cisplatin. For her work, Bose won $50,000, traveled to the Galapagos Islands and was able to tour CERN.
Oregon’s Naomi Shah won top honors in the 15-16 year old category with her research on the impact of air quality on lungs, especially in those who have asthma, by monitoring the air quality of their homes and businesses and measuring the force of their breath. Lauren Hodge of York, Pennsylvania won the 13-14 year old group for studying the impact of marinades on the amount of carcinogenic compounds produced by the grilling of meat.
2012
Seventeen-year-old Brittany Wenger was awarded the grand prize in 2012 for developing the “Global Neural Network Cloud Service for Breast Cancer,” a noninvasive test used to diagnose malignant cancerous tumors that had a success rate of over 99 percent during a trial. Like Bose in 2011, she received $50,000 and a trip to the Galapagos Islands for winning the contest.
The trio of Iván Hervías Rodríguez, Marcos Ochoa, and Sergio Pascual won the 15-16 year old age group for their project, which involved using microscopy to examine miniscule creatures in aquatic ecosystems, and the 13-14 year old age group went to Jonah Kohn, who created a device that translated sound into tactile sensations to help those suffering from hearing loss.
2013
Once again, the Grand Prize went to the winner of the 17-18 year old category in 2013. This time, the recipient was Eric Chen. His project “Computer-aided Discovery of Novel Influenza Endonuclease Inhibitors to Combat Flu Pandemic” used simulations and biological studies to analyze the potential of influenza endonuclease inhibitors as a possible anti-flu treatment that would be effective against all strains of the illness, including H5N1 and H7N9.
Australia’s Viney Kumar took first place in the 13-14 year old age category with his PART (Police and Ambulances Regulating Traffic) program, which looked for new ways to provide drivers with more notice when emergency vehicles were approaching so that they could get out of the way.
Ann Makosinski of Canada won the 15-16 year old age category with a flashlight powered by ambient heat from a person’s hand instead of batteries.
2014
Last year’s Grand Price went to Ciara Judge (16), Emer Hickey (16) and Sophie Healey (17) of Ireland, who became the first group to win the overall competition as well as the youngest. Their project, “Combating the Global Food Crisis: Diazatroph Bacteria as a Cereal Crop Growth Promoter,” found that the use of diazotroph bacteria as a germination aid for cereal crops had the potential to significantly increase crop yields and reduce losses caused by adverse weather.
Fourteen-year-old Mihir Garimella of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania won the 13-14 year old category with a project on robots that were inspired by fruit-flies, while 17-year-old Hayley Todesco from Canada won the 17-18 year old age group with her project that involved designing, building and testing the effectiveness of sand filters as bioreactors to the biodegradation of toxic acids.
Who will join their ranks in 2015? Google is will be accepting projects from students anywhere in the world, in any scientific field, from now through May 18. In addition to over $100,000 in scholarships and classroom grants, the winner will once again have the opportunity to visit the Galapagos islands, as well as tour LEGO’s Denmark headquarters and see Virgin Galactic’s new spaceship at the Mojave Air and Spaceport, the website announced on Wednesday.
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