School and Imperial winners of Science Challenge essay competition are revealed - <em>News</em>

Monday 29 March 2010
By John-Paul Jones

The winners of a competition challenging young essayists from Imperial and UK secondary schools to get writing about science were revealed at a prestigious awards evening on Friday night.

The competition, organised by Royal College of Science Union volunteers aims to promote scientific communication and creative thinking amongst students and school pupils. A panel of judges including scientists and science journalists, was responsible for selecting both topics and the winners, with Imperial’s overall victor being awarded £4,000 and the schools’ champion receiving a full bursary covering their tuition fees for a year, should they study at Imperial.

Chair of the organising committee, Afonso Campos, an undergraduate from Imperial’s Department of Physics, said: “As scientists we have a duty to effectively communicate the research we’re doing. It’s a really important skill, to share scientific ideas in an engaging way. We really wanted the competition to encourage this thinking amongst students, and to give school pupils the chance to write science in this way for the first time.”

Within an 800 word limit, entrants could choose to investigate topics related to the possibility of extraterrestrial life, the potency of renewable energy, the impact of green technology on traffic related carbon emissions or the state of medicine in ten years’ time, given advances in genetics. The topics were chosen by the four members of the judging panel, College Rector Sir Keith O’Nions, The Times' science editor Mark Henderson, Cambridge’s Professor Athene Donald and  Shell’s Fuels Innovation Manager, Andrew Harrison.

Welcoming guests to the evening awards ceremony, held at the Institute of Directors in Pall Mall, the Rector said: “Science is incredibly exciting and central to all our lives; it can also be hard work, of course, and sometimes that fact can deter people from pursuing their natural interest in how the world around us works. The Science Challenge is a great way to give us all a chance to approach science from another angle and remind ourselves that it can be a lot of fun.”

He added: “All of you who have entered the Challenge are a great answer to the accusation that science isn’t creative or imaginative.”

Each judge chose one Imperial and one school winner for the topic they set, with the whole panel selecting overall College and school winners from this shortlist. Ellen Ge, from the Tiffin Girls’ School in Kingston was named schools winner while a returning champion held on to his title as Imperial’s victor - Matt Silver, a postgraduate in the Department of Mathematics, who also triumphed last year.

Ellen said: “Having had no previous experience of writing non-fiction, let alone entering essay competitions, I knew I was setting myself up for something wholly unpredictable the moment I submitted my entry. Either I would get lucky, and my efforts recognised, or it would all backfire, in which case I would not lose heart and assure myself that ‘there’s always next year’.”

Explaining his approach Matt said: “I tried to write my essay in an accessible and entertaining way, while also including some interesting, albeit speculative, science into the bargain. For me, all writing is difficult until you have a good idea, and a plan for how to turn it into a compelling narrative. So, once I had the idea, it became a lot easier.”

The full list of winners is as follows:

Topic 1: How will genetic advances change medicine and society by 2020? –chosen by Mark Henderson, The Times

- IMPERIAL: Matt Silver – Department of Mathematics
- SCHOOLS: Zain Khawaja – Merchant Taylors School

Topic 2: The Climate Change Act 2008 commits the UK to an 80% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2050- can technology alone deliver road transports' share of this reduction? – chosen by Andrew Harrison, Shell UK

- IMPERIAL: Kieron Stopforth –Energy Futures Lab
- SCHOOLS: Kevin Moulton – Hazelwick School

Topic 3: Can renewable energy sources solve the UK's energy problems? – chosen by Professor Athene Donald, University of Cambridge

- IMPERIAL: Erica Thompson- Department of Physics
- SCHOOLS: Thomas Hole – Sherborne School

Topic 4: What are the prospects for finding life on other planets? - Sir Keith O'Nions, Imperial College London

- IMPERIAL: Arthur Turrell – Department of Physics
- SCHOOLS: Ellen Ge – Tiffin Girls’ School

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