Science Education News (SEN) Journal 2017 Volume 66 Number 4 December 2017 | Page 22

ASSOCIATION NEWS
2017 Young Scientist Awards (continued)
researched, designed and developed a small autonomous
window cleaning robot prototype that can effectively clean and dry
high-rise glass windows whilst manoeuvring around architectural
obstacles. The drone design is also able to operate in most
weather conditions by sensing crosswind and compensating
accordingly.
Minh Nga Nguyen, Sydney Girls’ High, Recycling waste into
biochar: a sustainable wastewater filter and fertiliser for the
agricultural industry.
Nga investigated the use of biochar to filter agricultural wastewater
as well its suitability as a soil fertiliser. She developed two
bamboo-based biochar filter systems that proved very efficient
at adsorbing nutrients such as ammonia, nitrates, nitrites and
phosphates. The used biochar was also shown to be effective
as a fertiliser, leading to increased plant health when tested,
demonstrating real potential for biochar to be used in the animal
husbandry industry.
Lachlan Bolton, Redeemer Baptist School, Future Board
Lachlan’s challenge was to design and build an extendable
modular surfboard that can easily fit in any car. His design,
the Future Board, is the world’s first ultraportable, extendable
surfboard. It has the ability to break down to half its original
size and fit into a regular bodyboard bag. Its unique function
allowing it to extend in length creates more flexibility for surfers
when choosing the right board for the conditions, making it a
truly innovative device. It is made from 100% recycled material
making it sustainable.
Photo taken of Minh Nga Nguyen in 2015
Oliver Nicholls, Barker College, Autonomous robotic window
cleaner for commercial buildings.
A Real Team Effort
For a full and comprehensive list of 2017 STANSW Young
Scientist Award results, go to our 66-page updated Presentation
Booklet that lists sequentially every award that was presented
on the night with a wonderful summary of each project. We also
have the President’s report, the Coordinator’s report and a list of
confirmed initiatives for 2018.
At this point the Young Scientist committee would like to personally
thank the judges who gave up one or two weekends to assess
each entry. Each project was double-marked in the first stage
of judging and the consistency of the judging made for a very
smooth process. We would like to thank the senior assessors
who spent many extra hours finalising each category result with
senior members of their judging team, and for writing up the
wonderful summaries of each winning project.
Oliver’s project focus was to develop an autonomous robotic
window cleaner for commercial buildings. He successfully
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SCIENCE EDUCATIONAL NEWS VOL 66 NO 4