Galway’s young boffins-in-the-making took home two of the main prizes – and eight awards overall – from last week’s Stripe Young Scientist and Technology Exhibition, when the top prize was won by a Kerry student for her project to improve the treatment of brain cancer.

Galway’s big winners in the Senior Section included Solomon Ó Gliasáin, a student at Coláiste Naomh Eoin on Inis Meáin, who came first in the Senior Individual (Technology) section with his project entitled ‘Ag úsáid córas nua, le cabhair intleachta saorga, chun canúintí díothaithe na Gaeilge a athchruthú’.

This saw him use a new system, with the help of artificial intelligence, to recreate extinct dialects of the Irish language. And that also won him the ECAS 112 Award for the best project in Irish.

Deepta Suresh and Janefrances Muoneke from the Dominican Convent, Taylor’s Hill, took first place in the Senior Group (Health & Wellbeing) section for their project entitled From Vessel Support to Insulin Production: A Prototype Stent for Diabetes Complications.

Also among the main winners were Portumna Community School’s Eve Kenny, Aisling Treacy and Allie Callanan who took first place in the Intermediate Group (Social & Behavioural Sciences) category with their project entitled Does the Autism Label Change How We See Our Classmates?

Muhammad Ashir Anwar from Coláiste Muire Máthair was second in Junior Individual (Technology) section with his project entitled NeuroSync: AI Powered Support for Cognitive and Neurological Care.

Fellow Coláiste Muire Máthair students Liya Walsh and Crystal Quinn took the Irish Science Teachers Association Award for Breaking the Bias: Have science books evolved enough to represent female scientists fairly?

Ailbhe Hartnett and Sophie McKenna from Presentation College, Headford, were third in the Junior Group (Technology) section with their project entitled Poor Women’s Telescope in this Economy!

And their fellow PCH student Eve Kennedy won the AirNav Ireland Safety Innovation Award for her project entitled Memory Metal Crumple Zones.

Caption: Claire Hanrahan, Head of Operations at ECAS, presents the ECAS 112 Award for the Best Project in Irish to Solomon Ó Gliasáin, from Coláiste Naomh Eoin; Salomon also won the first prize in the Senior Individual (Technology) category.

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