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Investigations on E-Cigarette Vapour wins SciFest@DCU

Investigations on E-Cigarette Vapour wins SciFest@DCU

The annual SciFest@DCU took place on Tuesday (24th April) which saw more than 350 students from schools all over the Leinster region exhibit 154 projects at DCU and put their knowledge of science to the test.

Of the 154 projects exhibited at SciFest@DCU 2018, the top prize on the day, the SFI Discover Best Project Award went to Gráinne Lawlor and Enya Nordon and their teacher Helena Lynn from Scoil Mhuire Community School in Clane for their project “An Investigation into the Deposition of Metallic Particles in E-Cigarette Vapour”.

The Abbott Runner-up Best Project Award went to Chloe Johnston, Tara Kelly and their teacher Niamh Mc Nally from Loreto Secondary School Balbriggan for their project on “Are the number of people canoeing in Irish rivers contributing to the spread of Aphanomyces astaci in the water?

SciFest is an all-inclusive, all-island science initiative which fosters active, collaborative and inquiry-based learning among second-level students. SciFest is funded primarily by Science Foundation Ireland, Intel and Boston Scientific and takes place across 16 regional venues in Ireland. It is a competition that aims to encourage students to develop an interest in STEM, while also prioritising inclusivity and inquiry-based learning.

SciFest@DCU co-ordinator Eilish McLoughlin Associate Professor in School of Physical Sciences and Director of CASTeL said:

“This year we have seen a significant increase in the number of projects been presented @SciFest@DCU, with some of the schools participating for the first time. There was a high level of excitement and enthusiasm from the second level students to share their science and we are very grateful to our team of 48 judges for their careful review of each project and selection of our 16 winning projects."

Commenting on the SciFest@DCU regional STEM fair Sheila Porter, SciFest CEO said:

“2017 was the tenth anniversary for SciFest and a hugely successful year with another big increase in the number of students taking part. In total 10,000 students exhibited their projects in local and regional STEM fairs across the country. We are sure that 2018 will be another successful year. SciFest gives students an excellent opportunity to develop their interest in STEM and inquiry-based approaches to learning, while developing their creative and problem-solving skills and learning to work in a team.”

Gráinne Lawlor and Enya Nordon said that the aim of their project was to “investigate the metals emitted from electronic cigarette vapour and where exactly within the e-cigarette these metals are coming from. We also wish to look at the molecular structure of the e-liquid in its pure state and after its been vaporised. Along with this we plan to see what the e-cigarette vapour is doing to lung cells.”

SciFest 2018 will be the fourth year of the prestigious Boston Scientific Medical Devices Award, which is presented at each of the 16 regional science fairs; the overall winner of this award will go on to compete for the Boston Scientific Medical Devices Grand Award at the national final in November.