KWETB
KWETB Success at the BT Young Scientist
& Technology Exhibition 2015
T
he 2015 BT Young Scientist and Technology
Exhibition 2015 was the focus of attention
for a number of students and their teachers
across KWETB schools. For some it was their first
experience of the competition, for others it was
a return journey with another piece of research
and the hope of affirmation from the judges.
The exhibition which is open to all second level
students from Ireland, both North and South has just
celebrated its 51st year.
This year saw a record breaking number of
projects entered. Each one of the 550 projects on
display was a winner having undergone a rigorous
selection process for a place in the final stage of
the competition. Students from KWETB schools
who made it to the winners list having emerged as
exceptional included some of the following:
Una Sinnott, Tommy McGing and Padraig Doyle
from Coláiste Bhríde, Carnew, Co. Wicklow stepped
up to the national podium to accept the first
place prize in the Senior Category Biological and
Ecological Sciences with their research on “Which
cattle breed has the lowest carbon ‘hoof’print?”
Under the guidance of their teacher Mirian Rickerby,
they proved their hypothesis that traditional breeds
such as Hereford and Angus have a lower carbon
footprint than continental breeds such as Charolais
and Limousin. They statistically analysed variables
such as grazing season, calving rate, age of first
calving, concentrate fed and total live weight gain
for the four cattle breeds. Their results showed
that that the traditional breeds had a lower carbon
‘hoof’print because they have a longer grazing
season, better calving rate and much lower meal
consumption. Their project also aimed to raise the
awareness of the farmer and the consumer of what
greenhouse gases are and their responsibility to
have low carbon footprints.
Transition Year students, Conor Windsor and David
Fleming from Avondale Community College,
Rathdrum, Co. Wicklow were delighted to present
themselves at the podium to receive one of the
coveted special awards. Special awards recognise
excellence in specific areas of research. Their project
entitled ‘The TB gun’ which was entered in the
8
Tommy McGing Una Sinnott and Padraig
Doyle winners of the senior category award
in Biological and Ecological Sciences for their
project entitled ‘Which cattle breed has the
lowest carbon ‘hoof’print?”
Conor Windsor and David Fleming with the
Veterinary Council of Ireland Special Award
and with their highly commended award for
their project entitled “The TB gun”
Technology Category won the Veterinary
Council of Ireland Special Award.
The boys were also awarded a highly
commended prize for ‘The TB gun’.
Assisted by their teacher Áoife Sullivan,
their study found that the vaccination
of cattle against the tuberculosis virus
February 2015