The Overall Winners of the 58th BT Young Scientist & Technology Exhibition is Aditya Joshi & Aditya Kumar from @SyngeStreetCBS , Dublin

Title- A New Method of Solving the Bernouli Quadrisection Problem#BTYSTE2022 #BTYSTE #Beyondlimits pic.twitter.com/U9DzR4UAyg

— BT Young Scientist (@BTYSTE) January 14, 2022

THE WINNER OF this year’s BT Young Scientist and Technology Exhibition has been announced.

Aditya Joshi and Aditya Kumar, both aged 15, from Synge Street in Dublin have won the top prize for their project entitled “A New Method of Solving the Bernoulli Quadrisection Problem”.

The project was presented by the two students in the Intermediate section in the Chemical, Physical and Mathematical Sciences category.

According to the two students, the project has a practical use within designing electronic circuits.

The announcement was made this afternoon at the second virtual BTYSTE, held online due to Covid-19.

The two winners will now take home the BTYSTE perpetual trophy, as well as a €7,500 cash prize.

The students will also be representing Ireland at the European Union Contest for Young Scientists, which will take place in September.

Professor Pat Guiry, Professor of Synthetic Organic Chemistry at UCD, who chairs the Group Chemical, Physical and Mathematics Sciences Judging Panel said that the two took a new approach to a problem that has existed since 1687.

“The students tackled the problem using the technique of particle swarm optimisation, an algorithmic approach inspired by the biological phenomena of the behaviour of individuals within flocks or swarms,” said Guiry.

“The judges were highly impressed by their elegant work, their creative ideas and their excellent presentation skills.

“The students presented a new approach to a problem that dates back to 1687, while also identifying areas of possible application in contemporary engineering.”

Minister for Education, Norma Foley praised the students for their creativity and innovation with their project work.

“It is both encouraging and heartening to witness the level of creativity and innovation of this year’s entrants as demonstrated through their meticulously researched and ingenious projects,” said Foley.

“Each one of you is a credit to yourself, your family, your school and you should be proud of your accomplishments.

“The calibre of entries is a testament to the tenacity and talent of the students behind them, and it is this constant high standard that makes BT Young Scientist one of the longest running, and most successful STEM events in Europe.

Other winners 

The award for the best individual winner went to Ross O’Boyle, aged 16, a student from Portmarnock Community College, Dublin.

His project was entitled “An investigation into the effectiveness of various ventilation methods using CO2 as a proxy for the spread of Covid-19 in both controlled and real-life scenarios”.

The project was entered within the Chemical, Physical and Mathematical Scientists Individual category at Intermediate level.

Professor Orla Feely, Vice-President for Research, Innovation and Impact, UCD & Chair of Individual Chemical, Physical & Mathematical Sciences said that judges were very impressed by the project.

“Ross used experiments and mathematical models to investigate the effectiveness of different ventilation methods at maintaining safe CO2 levels, with a view to preventing the spread of Covid-19,” said Feely.

“The judges were very impressed by the breadth of the project, and also by the way in which the student applied scientific principles to a problem of great current interest.”

The runner up in the individual category was presented to Andrei Florian, aged 17, who is a student at St Aidan’s CBS, Dublin, for his project entitled: “An Investigation into the Development of a Digital PR-STV Electoral Voting System using Blockchain Technologies”.

His project was creating a unique end-to-end system which allows remote voting, with the potential to change the Irish voting process securely.

The group runners up were Conor Bradshaw (18), David Hughes (17) and Dara Newsome (17), from Mercy Mounthawk in Tralee, Co Kerry. 

Their project, entitled “A Wearable Smart Device for Dementia Patients”, was based around creating an intelligent spectacle system that helps reduce anxiety and fear in dementia patients.