The next generation of scientists was out flexing its academic muscle this past weekend as The University of Western Ontario played host to the 39th annual London District Science and Technology Fair (LDSTF).
It was all relative for St. Theresa Catholic School student Patrick Murphy as his ‘Ball Bearing Relativity’ project won an international Year of Astronomy Award at the 39th annual London District Science and Technology Fair this past weekend. More than 100 young scientists took part in the event held at the Faculty of Education’s Althouse Building.
From projects exploring the development of plant growth and wonder worms to solar radiation and capsaicin-induced pain relief, more than 100 students in Grades 6-12 from more than 20 schools across the London region came to impress, and to be impressed by each other.
Western graduate student Caroline Whippey, an event organizer, says the creativity and level of ability of these top young students is extraordinary.
“We have a lot of bright students here in London,” she says. “There are so many great projects, each with its own interesting perspective. It’s been overwhelming the knowledge and thought that goes into the projects we’ve been seeing.”
One such project by Grade 11 A. B. Lucas Secondary School student Ratna Varma – “Comparing survival of PUMA-deficient and wildtype MSCs to apoptotic stimuli for augmented regeneration” – caught the eye of judges.
“The idea is that with stem cell transplants there is a gene that leads to cell death and therefore the failure of the transplant,” says the 16-year-old, who is eyeing Western for her undergraduate degree. “If we remove that particular gene, we can then improve the success rate of the transplants.”
Varma, participating in her fifth LDSTF, says each year she anticipates bringing her latest scientific thoughts to life. She will continue to share her latest project, having earned a trip to the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair next month in Reno, Nevada.
“I just love coming to this fair. It’s just great exposure to everything scientific and it gets you going to want to learn so much more,” says Varma. “The hands-on experience is one of the more intriguing aspects of science that I enjoy.”
At the awards ceremony, five winning students were also awarded trips to represent London at the Canada-wide Science Fair in Winnipeg, Manitoba this May. Two other students were awarded summer research jobs at Western.
See the complete list of winners at www.ldstf.ca.