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Science Bursaries for Schools and Colleges

8 Nuffield Science Bursary students win prizes at the BA Crest Science Fair!

Fri, 3 March 2006

The BA Crest Science Fair was held at the start of this week at the Royal Society in London. Over 100 students selected from regional finals displayed their projects at the Fair.

Of the 12 prizes in their category, Nuffield bursary students went on to win 8 prizes which were judged by a panel of science experts.

AstraZeneca Young Innovators Award Prize

Students who win this prize are given an all expenses paid trip to the AstraZeneca site in Molndal and the Gothenburg International Science Festival in May 2006.

Robert Morgan BlizzardRobert Morgan Blizzard from Ermysted's Grammar School, Skipton
Project title: “A study of the pharmacokinetics of novel anticancer drugs”.
Robert's project investigated two drugs known as duocarmycins, focusing on stability and the way in which the drugs are metabolised by the body. High Performance Liquid Chormotography and Photodiode Array Detection were used and these techniques yielded interesting results.





Eric TophamEric Topham from Thomas Hardye School, Dorchester, Dorset.
Project title: “Communication in ants, and between ants and myrmecophiles”.
This project studied the Maculinea caterpillar, which recruits ants to carry it to their nest and nurture it until it develops into the butterfly stage. The results showed that workers investigated Maculinea calls significantly more than white-noise suggesting that caterpillars recruit ants by using acoustic signals. The research that Eric did has been published and has also been featured on the recent BBC programme Life in the Undergrowth.

International Science and Engineering Fair Prize

Lydia ArnoldLydia Arnold from Audenshaw School, Glossop, Derbyshire
Project title:“Design and construct a laser photonics robotic hand control”.
The aim of this project was to design and construct a laser photonics robotic hand control, which could be controlled by the movements of the user's own hand. A completely original control system was designed for finger movements that incorporated laser speckle attenuation in an optic fibre fitted to the operator's hand.


Lydia's prize is to attend the International Science and Engineering Fair to be held in Indianapolis in May 2006.

EU Contest for Young Scientists Prize

This EU Contest was set up to promote the ideals of cooperation and interchange between young scientists. It provides an annual showcase of the best of European students' scientific achievements. The EU Contest is hosted annually in a different European country and in 2006 it will be held in Stockholm.

David Bendell, Leon Chen and Waldo SavilleLeon Chen from Corfe Hills School, Broadstone, Dorset
Project title: “Visualising the Future”
This six week project set out to answer the question "How effective are the implementations of Dihedral/Anhedral forms of Wing Morphing on Delta Wings specific to Micro-Air-Vehicles (MAV)?' Challenges included the construction of an adjustable delta wing, set-up and recording.

David Bendell from Bexhill College, East Sussex
Project title: “A Study into the Possibility of Bacterial Cross Contamination in Food and Drink Distribution”
The aim of this project was to investigate the possibility of bacterial cross contamination in food and drink distribution on hospital wards. David was based at the Kent and Sussex Hospital and experimental microbiological work was carried out focusing on pathogenic bacteria.

Waldo Saville from the City of London School for Boys
Project title: Analysis of the water-soluble constituents of the herbal product Guacatonga"
This project involved analysis of the water-soluble components of the herbal product Guacatonga (Casearia sylvestris) and successfully identified 10 new low molecular weight compounds not previously detected in this plant; one of them is a potent immune modulator.

QinetiQ Stockholm International Youth Science Seminar Prize

Students who win this prize are invited to attend the Stockholm International Youth Science Seminar in December 2006.

Henry CollierHenry Collier from Bolton School
Project title: “Shaken Baby Syndrome: Can Fractures Haemorrhage when induced post-mortem?”
In many alleged shaken baby syndrome cases, it has been accepted that fractures do not haemorrhage when induced post-mortem. However there is little objective evidence to prove or disprove this idea. In this research, microscopic analysis of bones fractured post-mortem revealed several instances of substantial haemorrhaging.

London International Science Youth Forum Prize

Students who win this prize are given the opportunity to join the two week forum of lectures and visits held at the Royal Institution and the Institute of Electrical Engineers.

Kathyrn FerrisKathryn Ferris from Glenlola Collegiate School, Co Down
Project title: “Determination of the Advanced Lipoxidation End-Products in Diabetic Serum”.
In this project, Acrolein, a newly developed Enzyme Linked Immunosorbent Assay was used to investigate whether serum levels of Acrolein are elevated in diabetic patients when compared to healthy control subjects.

Last Updated Mon, 27 March 2006