About 600 young bright scientists from across the county participated in the annual Eskom Expo for Young Scientists International Science Fair (ISF) with the hopes of taking home a share of R9-million worth of prizes.
Twelve of the 600 learners were from various schools in Ekurhuleni.
This year’s prizes included R75 000 for the top senior scientist, R50 000 for the top junior scientist and bursaries from Wits University, the University of Pretoria, Durban University of Technology, Siemens and Babcock.
Other prizes included a Megatronic/Electronic apprenticeship in Germany (sponsored by Siemens), science kits for schools, laptops and tablets for learners.
The fair was the culmination of 35 intensive regional competitions, held in nine provinces during July and August, where young scientists presented their scientific ideas and research projects to a panel of judges.
During the designated four days, selected learners displayed their impressive projects that they developed at the exhibition hall for the public who were invited to see, first-hand, their work.
This year, engineering and energy categories proved to be the most popular among young scientists, with learners aiming to find alternative solutions to power up South Africa.
Top senior and junior Eskom Expo grand prize winners were two girls, Iqra Faki, who hails from Cape Town, and Abigail Bloem from Bloemfontein.
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Faki received a R75 000 cash prize for her project called “Fractal Exploration: The 3-dimensional Koch snowflake”.
The aim of the project was to examine mathematical trends and noticeable properties for the surface area and volume of the three-dimensional Koch snowflake.
Faki was also awarded the Meiring Naude Award for the most inspiring project.
Meanwhile, Bloem, who designed a project aimed at addressing traffic woes with a renewable energy system, won R50 000.
Ekurhuleni learners also flew the metro’s flag high by walking away with bursaries, silver and gold medals and certificates.
Highly recommended certificate winner Fernando Fernandino, from Langaville Secondary School in Tsakane, designed a project called “Railway system for elderly and disabled people in the city centre”.
Kgaogelo Molauzi, from Sir Pierre Van Ryneveld High School in Kempton Park, won a gold medal last year and went home with a silver medal this year. He designed a project called “Power of the sea, power of independence”.
Eskom Expo executive director Parthy Chetty said, “It is very inspiring to see such brilliance from young learners of South Africa. The best presented project at ISF 2019 was a junior project, which was very encouraging to see. Young scientists took their passion for science to the next level.
“There were many more gold medals attained this year, which also indicates that the quality of regional science fairs across the country has improved.”
The Eskom Expo provides a platform for learners to increase their awareness and knowledge of the wonders of science, and also hopes to broaden their scientific horizons.
It also serves as motivation for them to pursue careers in the science, technology, engineering, mathematics and innovation (STEMI) fields.
