Young Scientist Award winners

Sophie (Year 10) won an Encouragement Award for her secondary science investigation project Reducing Fuel Consumption By Altering Wing Sweepback In Passenger Aircraft. This award is for highly commended students who show particular promise and are encouraged to pursue further development. Sophie made innovative use of flight simulator software to investigate the best sweepback angle (the angle between the wing and the fuselage) to reduce fuel consumption in large aircraft such as Boeing 737-800. She found that an angle of 26.5 degrees was the most effective in reducing fuel consumption.

Louisa (Year 10) won third place in the Yr 9-10 Earth and Environmental  Scientific Investigations category for her project Hot Pavers Down Under: Cracking the Code to Cool Sydney’s Urban Heat Island. Louisa investigated the surface temperature differences amongst various pavement materials used in Sydney. She found that asphalt had the highest surface temperature difference, rising higher than 30 degrees above ambient temperature, while sandstone had the lowest difference of only 11 degrees above ambient.

Ruby (Year 10) won second place in the Yr 9-10 Biology Scientific Investigations category for her project Hormonal Highways: The Connection Between Menstrual Cycles and Visual Reaction Time. Ruby was interested to see if fluctuating female hormones across a menstrual cycle influenced reaction time. To do this she measured the reaction time at four different points in the cycle, as well as comparing reaction time in non-menstruating females. She determined that there was more variability in the reaction times of menstruating females and those in the follicular phase showed the fastest times.

Amelie (Year 8) won second place in the Yr 7-8 Chemistry Scientific Investigations category for her project: Which type of cow’s milk produces the casein plastic that can support the greatest mass. Amelie tested the durability of casein plastic made from different types of cow’s milk. Her data showed that a lower milk fat content resulted in plastic that could support a greater mass. Amelie explored the possibility of using casein as a sustainable material.

Amelie has also been invited to submit her project to the ASTA i3 awards to showcase her project on the national stage.

Beatrix (Year 12) won Step Environment Award for her project: Investigation into the change in microplastic abundance along the Eastern coast of Australia, from 2018 to 2024. This award is for the best project relating to environmental protection and conservation. Beatrix investigated microplastic abundances in eight different beaches along the east coast of Australia and compared her results to those from 2018 at the same sites. A detailed analysis of her results demonstrated a distinct correlation between longitudinal population density and the percentage change in microplastic abundance.

A big congratulations to all of our Loreto Kirribilli Science award recipients and the Science Department for their leadership of the students and their projects. Not only do they gain the prestige of winning these wonderful awards, all of the awards above came with cash prizes in the form of gift certificates!

Josh Clark
Science Coordinator