Maltese project makes EU Young Scientists Competition final

Three young Maltese scientists are among 126 people from 35 countries competing in the final round of the EU's Young Scientist Contest in Moscow.

The Maltese project was chosen from among hundreds submitted for this competition and is being presented by its inventors Daniela Bartolo, Mark Abela and Andrea Micallef, sixth-formers at St Aloysius' College. Their project was selected through the NSTF Contest for Young Scientists IX earlier this year. The prizewinners were named at the NSTF Science Week 2005.

The three budding scientists are presenting a domestic biogas generator, which produces biogas from ground-up waste organic matter. The matter is preserved in a black plastic container, which absorbs heat from its surroundings, encouraging decomposition. An extractor creates pressure so that the gas enters a container and is kept there by one-way valves. When a valve is opened, the flammable biogas is ignited, generating renewable energy. The sludge in the containers can then be dried and used as compost.

The final round of the contest will be opened today by Russian Vice-Premier Alexander Zhukov. Over the next two days 79 innovative projects will be judged by a jury headed by Dr Ulf Merbold, the first European Space Agency astronaut to go into space.

Prizes worth €28,500 will be awarded in the Council Hall of Moscow's Christ the Saviour Cathedral complex on Wednesday.

Organised annually by the European Commission, the contest aims to encourage young people to pursue their interest in science and embark on scientific careers.

The 79 projects competing in the contest cover a wide range of scientific disciplines - from engineering and the environment to medicine, chemistry, biology, earth sciences, mathematics and the social sciences. The entries' standard is always high and several past projects have led to scientific breakthroughs or the setting up of new businesses. Only projects that have won a top prize at a national young scientist competition can participate in the EU contest. The contest represents a real scientific challenge for over 30,000 young scientists who compete annually in their national contests.

The EU Young Scientist Contest has been held since 1989 and is supported by the Science and Society Programme of the Sixth Framework Programme for Research.

The National Student Travel Foundation (Malta) was nominated national organiser for the project in 1997 by the Ministry of Education. The annual NSTF Contest for Young Scientists is open to students aged 15 to 21 and is supported by the Malta Chamber of Scientists, the Malta Tourism Authority, Tumas Group and Air Malta.