Sixteen awards for Westmeath at the BT Young Scientist and Technology Exhibition

Sixteen prizes have come Westmeath’s way this evening at the BT Young Scientist and Technology Exhibition at the RDS in Dublin.

Ethan Tanudra, Max Buinenko and Seán Murphy of Coláiste Mhuire, Mullingar, won one of the main honours, the RTE Social and Behavioural Award, a "Gold Partner Award" for their app "Anchor". They also were named as overall winners of the senior group Social and Behavioural Sciences category.

Coláiste Mhuire teacher Eva Acton won the Analog Devices Technology Educator of Excellence Award while the Amgen Biological & Ecological Educator of Excellence Award went to Athlone Community College teacher Emma Buckley.

For his project entitled "An Investigation into Cyclist Safety in Ireland and Development of an Innovative Technological Solution to Improve the Rate of Cyclist Injuries and Fatalities: Safe Cycle", Killian McGrath, Delvin, a student at Coláiste Mhuire, won the Commission for Communications Regulation award for a technology project. The project was also recipient of a Highly Commended award.

Charlie Dupuis, Hubert Kozlowski and Dylan Kennedy, the Coláiste Mhuire trio behind the project "Implementing Financial Literacy and Investing In Irish Teens" came second in the senior group section of the Social and Behavioural Sciences category.

Rachel Hamm and Ella Ryan of Moate Community School won the Self Help Africa Science for Development Award for their study "Banana Bandages: A Sustainable Approach to Wound Care". Their project was also placed third in the intermediate section of the Health and Wellbeing category.

"Giving Girls a Voice: How Successful is the HSE at treating girls with endometriosis?" was the submission of Athlone Community College's Kayleigh McNamara, and it was awarded the The Ombudsman for Children’s Office Award.

Kayleigh's entry also came third in the senior individual section of the Health and Wellbeing category.

Another Athlone Community College winner was Srinidhi Karthik for "Removing biases in the world of Artificial Intelligence", which won The .ie Award. Srinidhi also won the overall junior individual award in the technology category.

In the Social and Behavioural Sciences category, the overall senior individual winner was Athlone Community College student Sean Sibindi for: "Psycho-acoustics and their applications in psychiatric conditioning".

First place overall in the junior group section of the technology category was the Moate Community School team Domhnall Molloy, Terry Heffernan and Kerry Sun for "EweAlert: A Warning Device to Notify Sheep Farmers of Dog Attacks".

Laura Fox, Lucy Keane and Niamh Noone, also from Moate Community School, won first place overall in the junior group section of the biological and ecological category for their project, "Optimising Hydroponics for Use in Developing Countries".

"Fowl Play: Investigating the Effectiveness of Improved Husbandry and Diet at Reducing the Bacterial Contamination of Hen Eggs" won first prize in the junior group section of the Health and Wellbeing category for Sibeal Egan and Doireann Naughten, Moate Community School.

Michelle Hughes, Muireann Lambe of Our Lady's Bower won a display award for their entry, "Moove Over Biodegradable – Let’s Talk Edible".