Moate CS students who are working on projects for the Young Scientist exhibition in January. Back row: Fionn Murphy, Saoirse Lynam, Aoibh Larkin, Kayla Moran, Heidi Shellam, Hollie Field, Leah Pillion, Aoife Ross, Gavin Quilty. Front Row: Mollie Quinn, Lucy Carroll, Ally Duffy, Aoife Howlin, Katie Ann McHugh. Missing from photo: Katie Creggy.

Seven Moate projects set for Young Scientist event in Dublin

A total of seven projects being undertaken by Moate Community School students have qualified for the BT Young Scientist & Technology exhibition taking place in Dublin's RDS in January.

Transition year and second year students from the school were delighted to receive notification on Monday, October 21, that their projects had been accepted for the prestigious exhibition.

The students have been doing tremendous work on the projects since September, when they started to put together their initial scientific investigations and proposals.

The Transition Year students’ projects include one by Fionn Murphy and Gavin Quilty called, 'Generating Power by Harnessing Swells Close to the Seashore'. In their project, the students aim to generate energy renewably using sea swells along Ireland’s coastline.

They are building a 'swellerator' prototype, including a buoyant shell and hydraulic model, to harvest the kinetic energy from the changing levels of sea swells.

Aoife Ross, Katie Creggy and Katie Ann McHugh are working on a project called, 'Fungi Civil War: Using Birch Polypore to Develop a Treatment Spray for Bovine Ringworm'.

This involves using extracts from the mushrooms which grow on decaying birch trees to develop an antifungal treatment for ringworm in cattle.

The project by Hollie Field, Heidi Shellam and Saoirse Lynam is called, 'Electrobloom: An Electroculture Growth Chamber to Increase the Germination and Yield of Protected Crop'.

Noting the challenges faced by the protected vegetable sector in Ireland, these students are developing a growth chamber which will utilise copper coils to support the growth of developing crops.

Aoibh Larkin, Leah Pillion and Kayla Moran have a project called, 'Botanical Barriers: Harnessing Plant Compounds for UV Protection During Nail Treatment'.

Aoibh, Leah and Kayla are aware of the harmful effects of UV rays used for nail manicures, including skin cancer and premature aging of skin. They are exploring an alternative natural base coat made from kale and green grapes which will shield the UV rays.

The three qualifying projects from second year students include, 'Nutri-Flo: A Natural Tree Nut Water Filter for Cattle' by Aoife Howlin and Ally Duffy.

The students are investigating a labour-free water drinker which farmers can use to improve the health and safety of their herd. Their drinker filters the water using extracts from the nuts of native Irish oak and hazel trees.

Lucy Carroll, meanwhile, is working on a project called, 'Methane Busters: Harnessing Tannins and Feed Additives to Clean Up Slurry Tank Emissions'.

Lucy is investigating the reduction of methane emissions from slurry tanks of bovine herds. She is analysing the antimicrobial properties of plant leaves and nuts from carrot, oak, willow, pine, black tea and chestnut in reducing the emissions of these greenhouse gases.

And Mollie Quinn is undertaking a project called, 'Crouch-Bind-Set'. In this project, Mollie aims to improve the welfare and safety of amateur and professional rugby players. She is designing a scrum cap which will reduce the impact force on players skull during tackles and alert coaches to excessive force.

A number of other projects were submitted from students in Moate Community School but unfortunately did not qualify.