Pictures of the Future Spring 2008
Energy for Everyone – School Competitions
Getting Excited about Science
Each year, pioneering ideas from the fields of mathematics, natural sciences and technology are honored in Siemens school competitions in the U.S. and Germany. The slogan for this year’s German competition was "Climate Change."
The 2008 German competition focused on climate change. The first place winners (left) examined how solar energy could cut carbon dioxide emissions. Adjacent are the U.S. prize winners
The sea is a source of inspiration not only for poets and thinkers, but also for young inventors who have set their sights on sustainability. Take Aaron Goldin, for example. A Harvard student from California, Aaron has developed a buoy-based wave power plant that converts wave power into electrical energy using a gyroscope. This has several advantages: the system is watertight and mobile, and it does not contain environmentally harmful liquids. Three years ago, when Aaron was 17, he was honored for his invention with the top individual prize and $100,000 in the Siemens Competition in Math, Science and Technology.
Ayon Sen, a 17-year-old regional finalist in last year’s competition, also achieved success with a climate protection project. He used mathematical methods to investigate the boundary surface phenomena of ocean currents, which have a major effect on the climate. And two years ago a prize-winning team from Tennessee caused a stir with an information technology project for the cost-effective production of bio-ethanol.
The Siemens Competition in Math, Science and Technology will celebrate its 10th year in the U.S. and is well-established as a research competition that is reported on by the media. The number of participants increases with each award. Last year, over 1,600 students registered. U.S. governors and senators frequently pay tribute to the winners. Even First Lady Laura Bush recently honored the recent winners at the White House.
Since 2007, this successful concept has also been implemented by Siemens in Germany. "Our goal is to get young people excited about technology and science, and to discover and promote talented individuals as early on as possible," says Christa Mühlbauer from Siemens Corporate Citizenship, who is the project manager for the competition. The shortage of engineers in Germany shows that action needs to be taken. Siemens believes that addressing this issue is a social challenge.
Climate Change. In contrast to the competition in the United States., German students in classes 11 to 13 are given a predefined research topic. Says Mühlbauer, "The slogan should be up-to-date and socially relevant, but it also should be relevant to the company." And this year’s topic, which is "Climate Change," was a big hit. "The response has far exceeded our expectations," says Mühlbauer. Almost 800 students applied, both individually and in small teams. In all, around 400 topics were explored. In particular, many students addressed topics on the research areas hydrogen technology, biogas, solar energy, and carbon dioxide storage.
Many unusual topics can be found among those submitted. For example, one project investigates whether the energy generated by billions of pedestrians on sidewalks around the world can be made usable via piezoelectric generators.
Unusual approaches are actively encouraged, explains Christa Mühlbauer. After all, in the advertisement for the competition, students were asked to give free rein to their fantasy. The task of the contest’s independent jury of experts is to select the cream of the climate protection ideas. Ten renowned scientists from Siemens partner universities, the Technical Universities (TU) of Munich and Berlin and Aachen University, have been involved in deciding which projects are worthy of a prize.
The winners were selected in April, 2008. They were Rosa Meyer and Christine Mauelshagen from Hollenberg High School in North Rhine-Westphalia, who examined how the use of solar energy could cut CO2 emissions in their local area. Their award-winning study earned them €30,000 in prize money.
"We will be awarding a total of €111,000 in prize money, some of which will also go to the departments of the supervising teachers," reports Mühlbauer. The winning students can finance their studies with their prizes and also make a name for themselves in scientific circles before they even enter a university.
Hopefully, the prize-winners and their inventions will trigger a wave of enthusiasm in industry and business—and go on to prove their potential for climate protection in practice.
Andrea Hoferichter