News Article

World Virtual Science and Engineering Fair winners announced


5/13/2008 9:26:31 AM


Winners of the World Virtual Science and Engineering Fair were congratulated by renowned scientist and Canadian Astronaut, Dr. Roberta Bondar, and College of the North Atlantic-Qatar President, Dr. Hal Jorch at the awards gala. Out of the 103 science students around the world who submitted science projects virtually, eight finalist teams travelled to Doha for the awards ceremony.

The top prizes in the inaugural World Virtual Science and Engineering Fair were awarded May 10th at College of the North Atlantic–Qatar (CNA-Q).

The top prize in the college category went to Katja Miller from Germany for her “Nervous Nerves” project which mathematically models the anatomy of a neural network, by using a fractal algorithm, to emulate the way a brain physically grows.

The top prize in the senior high school category went to Vlad Ternovsky from Canada for his “A Hole in the Wing: Not Always a Bad Thing” project. His project investigated the effects of having different sized holes in an airfoil and whether they could be usefully adapted for practical applications, such as a quiet, slow rotating wind turbine.

The winners of the World Virtual Science and Engineering Fair were announced at an awards ceremony at CNA-Q in front of a 500 strong audience of students and VIPs, which featured films about the finalists and their projects, testimonials and a speech by Canadian Astronaut and special guest judge, Dr. Roberta Bondar.

Dr. Bondar said, “The virtual aspect of the Fair is quite unique and allowed students who don’t normally have access to science fairs to be involved and compete against students from all over the world. I am a big supporter of science fairs like this. They stimulate science and education through rewarding excellence.”

The top three winners in each category received scholarship money to go towards an educational institution of their choice. The top prize was 20,000 Canadian Dollars, with the second prize of 15,000 Canadian Dollars and 7,500 Canadian Dollars for third place.

The WVSEF, organised by CNA-Q and in partnership with Qtel, brought together young scientists from five continents. Out of 103 science students from around the world who submitted science projects virtually, over the Internet, eight finalist teams travelled to Doha for the final judging and WVSEF awards ceremony on May 9-10, 2008.

The special guest and judge at the World Virtual Science and Engineering Fair (WVSEF) was the Canadian astronaut, physician, scientist, author and photographer, Dr. Roberta Bondar. Dr. Bondar was the world’s first neurologist in space and the first Canadian woman in space on the shuttle Discovery mission in 1992.

Dr. Harald Jorch, President of College of the North Atlantic-Qatar said, “This is a world first and a great event for the college – we were thrilled to welcome these young scientists and the distinguished judges from around the world. All of the projects were very impressive and the participants should be proud to have made it to the final judging in Doha.”

The college division winners of the World Virtual Science and Engineering Fair:

Platinum Award
Katja Miller, Germany
Project Title: Nervous Nerves

Gold Award
Esther Chiew Yee Chiong
Project Title: Rambutan Ink From Fruit Rinds

Silver Award
Dory Al-Kassis, Qatar
Fatima Al-Muslih, Qatar
Project Title: Writer Identification System

Honourable Mention
Jordan Chin, Canada
Robert Young, Canada
Project Title: Finding Functions of X with Genetic Algorithms

The senior high school division winners of the World Virtual Science and Engineering Fair:

Platinum Award
Vlad Ternovsky, Canada
Project Title: A Hole in the Wing: Not Always a Bad Thing

Gold Award
Shaun Williams, Australia
Project Title: Chlorella protothecoides as a Carbon Sink and Biodiesel Source

Silver Award
Fatima Shami, Pakistan
Project Title: Device for Speech Impaired and Deaf (D-S.I.D): Life Changing Communication an Alternative to Sign Language

Honourable Mention
Rohit Dinesh, Qatar
Project Title: Noise Monitoring for Leak Detection

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INFORMATION:

Roger Hulan
Public Information Officer - Qatar Project
College of the North Atlantic
709.643.0811