IP/10/1201
Lisbona, 29 ta' Settembru 2010
It-22 Konkors tal-UE għal Xjenzjati Żgħażagħ: l-aħjar imħuħ żgħażagħ ippremjati f'Lisbona
Illum f''Lisbona, xjenzati żgħażagħ mir-Repubblika Ċeka, mill-Polonja u mill-Ungerija ngħataw il-premju għall-ewwel post tal-Konkors tal-Unjoni Ewropea għal Xjenzjati Żgħażagħ 2010. Il-proġetti li analizzaw il-fiżika, il-bijoloġija u x-xjenzi soċjali. kienu magħżula minn Ġurija Internazzjonali fost 85 proġett minn 37 pajjiż. Il-premijiet għat-tieni u t-tielet post u l-Premju Internazzjonali ngħataw lil 7 proġetti oħra mill-Polonja, il-Ġermanja, il-Portugall, il-Latvja, l-Italja u l-Brażil. Is-16-il kontestant rebbieħa li għandhom bejn 14 u 21 sena, ħadu bejniethom total ta' EUR 51 500 f'premijiet għall-proġetti xjentifiċi innovattivi tal-aħjar kwalità tagħhom. Tagħrif dwar ir-rebbieħa u dwar il-proġetti kollha ppreżentati huwa disponibbli fis-sit elettroniku http://ec.europa.eu/research/youngscientists/index_en.cfm.
"Il-Konkors tal-UE għal Xjenzjati Żgħażagħ huwa vetrina għall-aħjar kisbiet xjentifiċi tal-istudenti fl-Ewropa kollha. Nifraħ lir-rebbieħa u lil kull min ipparteċipa: huma ambaxxaturi fantastiċi għall-iskejjel u l-universitajiet tagħhom, għal pajjiżhom u għar-reġjuni tagħhom u għaż-żgħażagħ tal-lum." Qalet il-Kummissarju għar-Riċerka, l-Innovazzjoni u x-Xjenza Máire Geoghegan-Quinn. "Huwa biss permezz tal-investiment fit-talent żagħżugħ b'ideat friski u li dawn iż-żgħażagħ jingħatawlhom l-opportunitajiet ta' karrieri xjentifiċi adattati, li nagħmlu lill-Ewropa attur xjentifiku ta' klassi mondjali u li nibnu Unjoni ta' Innovazzjoni reali. Dawn iż-żgħażagħ se jgħinu fil-formazzjoni tal-futur - u naħseb li ninsabu f'idejn tajbin. Huwa ta' inkoraġġiment partikolari li tara li l-premijiet għall-ewwel tliet postijiet marru kollha għand studenti mill-Istati Membri l-ġodda."
Androulla Vassiliou, il-Kummissarju għall-edukazzjoni, tenniet dan il-fatt u qalet: "Ix-xjenza hija t-test ta' prova [litmus] għas-soċjetajiet li ngħixu fihom: għandha impatt fuq il-ħajjitna u tipprovdilna ikel iktar sikur u abbundanti, saħħa aħjar, trasport iktar ekoloġiku, aċċess għall-informazzjoni, mużika mobbli, SMS, televiżjoni b'definizzjoni għolja – il-lista ma tispiċċa qatt. Ix-xjenza tagħmel differenza u din hija r-raġuni għalfejn il-Kummissjoni Ewropea tappoġġja l-Konkors Ewropew għal Xjenzjati Żgħażagħ u tinvesti miljuni ta' ewro għax-xjenza permezz tal-Programm Qafas għar-Riċerka, il-Fond Marie Curie, Erasmus u skemi oħra. Jeħtieġ li nkomplu ninvestu fl-aħjar imħuħ! "
Il-Mużew tal-Elettriku f'Lisbona (il-Portugall) matul dawn l-aħħar ġranet, ospita 125 parteċipant minn 37 pajjiż fl-Ewropa u lil hinn minnha, inklużi l-Kanada, l-Istati Uniti u l-Brażil. Bejn l-24 sad-29 ta' Settembru, l-istudenti ppreżentaw 85 proġett lil Ġurija Internazzjonali ppreseduta mill-Professur Hagit Messer-Yaron. Dawn il-proġetti kienu diġà rebħu l-ewwel premju fil-konkorsi nazzjonali tagħhom. It-temi koprew firxa wiesgħa ta' oqsma xjentifiċi: il-bijoloġija, il-kimika, l-informatika, iż-xjenzi soċjali, l-ambjent, il-matematika, il-materjali, l-inġinerija u l-mediċina. L-istandard tal-konkors huwa dejjem għoli u bosta parteċipanti preċedenti għamlu suċċess xjentifiċi kbar jew waqqfu negozji sabiex jikkummerċjalizzaw l-ideat żviluppati għall-Konkors.
Sfond:
Il-Konkors tal-Unjoni Ewropea għal Xjenzjati Żgħażagħ kien imwaqqaf mill-Kummissjoni Ewropea biex ikunu ffaċilitati l-kooperazzjoni u l-iskambju bejn xjenzjati żgħażagħ b'kapaċitajiet u interessi simili u biex dawn jingħataw l-opportunità li jkunu ggwidati minn uħud mix-xjenzjati l-iktar prominenti fl-Ewropa.
Il-Konkors għandu l-għan li jinkoraġġixxi liż-żgħażagħ interessati fix-xjenza biex jibdew karrieri xjentifiċi.
Huwa parti mill-programm Xjenza u Soċjetà taħt is-Seba' Programm Qafas għar-Riċerka (FP7).
Din is-sena, il-premijiet tal-UE kienu ppreżentati mis-Sna Anneli Pauli, l-Assistent Direttur Ġenerali tad-DĠ għar-Riċerka tal-Kummissjoni Ewropea, flimkien mal-Professur Hagit Messer-Yaron, il-President tal-Ġurija.
Il-konkors beda fl-1989 bil-parteċipazzjoni ta' 15-il pajjiż. Din is-sena, 37 pajjiż u waħda mill-Iskejjel Ewropej qed jieħdu sehem fit-22 edizzjoni tal-konkors.
Mill-bidu ta' dan l-avveniment internazzjonali, ikkompetew total ta' 2074 parteċipant (627 bniet u 1447 subien). Tqassmu iktar minn 500 premju!
Iktar tagħrif dwar il-Konkors tal-UE għal Xjenzjati Żgħażagħ, inklużi ritratti, stejjer ta' suċċess, dettalji bijografiċi tal-membri tal-ġurija u deskrizzjonijiet tal-proġetti, jinsab fuq is-sit elettroniku:
http://ec.europa.eu/research/youngscientists/index_en.cfm
Annex 1
PRIZE-WINNERS
22nd European Union Contest for Young Scientists
FIRST PRIZES (€ 7.000 per Project)
Country | Czech Republic |
Contestants | Miroslav Rapcak ( 19 ) David Pegrimek (19) |
Scientific Field | Physics |
Project Title | Complete Phase Diagram Of CO2 Nanoclusters |
Short Summary | Complete Phase Diagram of CO2 Nanoclusters Miroslav Rapcak, David Pegrimek Nanoclusters (clusters) are aggregates of a few particles. For the past decades it has been accepted that clusters constitute a new and exciting form of matter with exotic properties used in nanotechnology. Nowadays, temperature dependences of properties are being studied. In the future applications of clusters, they will be surrounded by other particles that impact them by pressure. There exist no complex study of cluster properties dependence on the pressure. We have studied carbon dioxide clusters. Knowledge of CO2 clusters properties is much behind the knowledge of properties of other clusters. CO2 clusters become important for the surface erosion methods that provide an arbitrary surface structure or high friction surfaces. Studying of CO2 clusters at high pressures can provide a way to store CO2 into the ocean to avoid greenhouse ect. |
Country | Poland |
Contestants | Lukasz Sokolowski ( 20 ) |
Scientific Field | Biology |
Project Title | Foraging Strategy Of The Ant Formica Cinerea |
Short Summary | The goal of the research was to discover how the ants Formica cinerea search for food. Another aim was to check if F. cinerea are able to share information about the quality of food. Observation of wild F. cinerea colonies showed, that they use a strategy called “mass recruitment”. Ants using this strategy create a column leading from the nest to food. They use pheromones to mark the way. Observation of ant colonies kept in a special terrarium (formicarium) showed that the ants can share information about the quality of food. They can also switch from food of lower quality to the better one, but they do it slowly. The strategy used by F. cinera is not the most effective, but thanks to using it, F. cinerea avoids fights with T. caespitum, another ant living in the same environment. T. caespitum uses a more flexible foraging strategy called “group-mass recruitment“. That’s why ants of these two species do not compete for the same sources of food and do not fight with each other. |
Country | Hungary |
Contestants | Dávid Horváth ( 20 ) Márton Balassi ( 20 ) |
Scientific Field | Social Sciences |
Project Title | Nature On Your Screen - Computer Based Modeling And Local Area Network In The Education Of Ecology |
Short Summary | The crisis in science education gets much public attention these days as natural sciences are amongst the least popular subjects. Our starting point was to examine which programs we and our peers like using the most and which of these are the ones that can be implemented in classroom, so we decided to write a computer model to support ecology education. In our model by choosing external parameters to affect the ecosystem, it is also possible to model natural or anthropogenic effects such as migration, supporting certain trophic levels or spreading pesticides or pollutants. Using the program individually or in network provides an interactive tool for showing the main characteristics of ecosystems while developing mathematical competence, environmental consciousness, problem-based approach and creativity. We have also compiled a teaching aid including some stable configurations, lesson plans and ideas to assist further classroom implementation. |
SECOND PRIZES (€ 5.000 per project)
Country | Contestants | Age | Scientific Field | Project Title |
Poland | Justyna Slowiak | 19 | Biology | Biodiversity, Palaeoecology And Taxonomical Position Of Vertebrates In The Middle Triassic Sea Ecosystem In Silesia (sw Poland) |
Germany | Simon Schuldt | 19 | Engineering | Aircraft Of The Future - A Practise-based School Project |
Germany | Luca Banszerus Michael Schmitz | 18 19 | Physics | Production And Charaterization Of Graphene Devices |
THIRD PRIZES (€ 3.500 per Project)
Country | Contestants | Age | Scientific Field | Project Title |
Latvia | Aleksejs Sazonovs | 18 | Computing | Applying Image Recognition Methods For Classification Of Astronomical Images |
Italy | Davide Giacinto Lucarelli Niccolò Pozzi Stefano Sanfilippo | 19 19 19 | Mathematics | An Analysis of the Network of Chemists within the City of Monza |
Portugal | Inês Alexandra Costa Kristoffer de Sá Høg | 18 19 | Environment | Rocks Of The Southwest - The Mysteries Written On The Stone |
INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION PRIZE (€ 5.000 per project)
Country | Contestants | Age | Scientific Field | Project Title |
Brazil | William Lopes | 20 | Biology | Utilization Of The Fungus Aspergillus Niger On Wastewater Treatment Ii |
HONORARY AWARDS
Stockholm International Youth Science 2010
Country | Contestants | Age | Scientific Field | Project Title |
Czech Republic | Miroslav Rapcak David Pegrimek | 19 | Physics | Complete Phase Diagram of CO2 Nanoclusters |
Poland | Lukasz Sokolowski | 20 | Biology | Foraging Strategy Of The Ant Formica Cinerea |
London International Youth Science Forum 2011
Country | Contestants | Age | Scientific Field | Project Title |
Hungary | Dávid Horváth Márton Balassi | 20 20 | Social Sciences | Nature On Your Screen - Computer Based Modeling And Local Area Network In The Education Of Ecology |
SPECIAL DONATED PRIZES
There are 25 special donated prizes: a five-day visit of a technical and cultural nature to the
European Patent Office in Munich and a one-week stay at each of the seven members of
EIROforum[1]:
• CERN: The European Laboratory for Particle Physics
• EFDA: The European Fusion Development Agreement
• EMBL: The European Molecular Biology Laboratory
• ESA: The European Space Agency
• ESO: The European Southern Observatory
• ESRF: The European Synchrotron Radiation Facility
• ILL: The Institut Laue-Langevin
The European Patent Office, Munich, Germany
Country | Contestants | Age | Scientific Field | Project Title |
Switzerland | Andrea Agazzi Mauro Salazar | 19 20 | Chemistry | Nanotechnology From Natural Tissues. Realization Of Catalytic Systems With High Active Surface From Spongy Bone. |
Switzerland | Christian Meier Thomas Vögeli | 20 20 | Engineering | Mts – Magnetic Transport System |
Germany | Simon Schuldt | 19 | Engineering | Aircraft Of The Future - A Practise-based School Project |
EIROForum Prizes
CERN: The European Laboratory for Particle Physics
Country | Contestants | Age | Scientific Field | Project Title |
Belarus | Volha Shumskaya | 17 | Mathematics | Extremal Properties Of L.c.m. And G.c.d. For Sequences |
EFDA-JET
Country | Contestants | Age | Scientific Field | Project Title |
Latvia | Janis Smits | 18 | Physics | Optimization Of Synthesis Conditions Of Lithium Iron Phosphate And Development Of A Thin Layer Battery |
ESA
Country | Contestants | Age | Scientific Field | Project Title |
Slovak Republic | Bejdová Vladimíra | 19 | Physics | New Binary Star In The Field Of Cn And |
EMBL
Country | Contestants | Age | Scientific Field | Project Title |
United Kindgom | Raghd Rostom | 19 | Biology | Embryonic Chick Bones As A Model For Osteogenic And Chondrogenic Differentiation In Stem Cells |
ESO
Country | Contestants | Age | Scientific Field | Project Title |
Israel | Pavel Fadeev | 19 | Physics | An Exploration Of Hii Star-forming Regions |
ILL
Country | Contestants | Age | Scientific Field | Project Title |
Bulgaria | Radko Kotev | 18 | Mathematics | A New Solution Of The Apollonius Problem |
ESRF
Country | Contestants | Age | Scientific Field | Project Title |
Italy | Sebastian Cincelli | 19 | Engineering | Eu.r.ex.- Eusocial Rovers For Exploration |
Host Organization Special Donated Prizes
The ADENE – Agency for Energy Special Prize
Country | Contestants | Age | Scientific Field | Project Title |
Ireland | Richard O’Shea | 19 | Engineering | A Biomass Fired Cooking Stove For Developing Countries |
France | Rémi Ounadjela Kaiqiang ZHANG Victor Mizrahi | 17 18 17 | Physics | The Musical Plasma |
Health Special Prize
Country | Contestants | Age | Scientific Field | Project Title |
Israel | Nitay Aspis | 18 | Biology | The Influence Of Galectin-8 On The Skeletal System |
Slovak Republic | Ferenc Jaroslav | 17 | Biology | The Examination Of Circadian Regulation Of Response On A Herbicide Glyphosate In Common Chickweed (stellaria Media) |
Vision-Box Special Prize
Country | Contestants | Age | Scientific Field | Project Title |
Germany | Andreas Lang | 20 | Computing | Face Detection Using Swarm Intelligence |
