Raheny student wins European award

A NORTHSIDE teenager, was crowned the overall winner of this year’s BT Young Scientist & Technology Exhibition, was celebrating again last week when he won a European award.

Paul Clarke, a student at St Paul’s College, Raheny, took home one of three 2nd prizes at the European Union Contest for Young (EUCYS) Scientists in Warsaw.

Paul was awarded the prize for his project entitled

‘Contributions to cyclic graph theory’, which is based on solving long-standing maths questions. As part of his prize, which is worth e5,000, Paul will spend a week in Geneva at CERN, the European Organisation for Nuclear Research.

The Warsaw contest brought together 77 projects from 36 countries, including EU member states and associated and international countries.

All entries had already won first prize in their country’s respective national science contests in their specific field.

The project topics covered a broad spectrum of scientific areas: biology, physics, chemistry, computing, social sciences, environment, mathematics, materials, engineering and medicine.

Reform Alliance TD for Dublin Bay North Terence Flanagan congratulated Paul on his latest success.

“I visited Paul’s stand at the BT Young Scientist & Technology Exhibition earlier this year and was thoroughly impressed with his project,

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“Paul later went on to win the overall award and I am delighted at his further success in Europe.

“Undoubtedly, Paul has worked extremely hard on his project and his dedication has certainly paid off.

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Máire Geoghegan-Quinn, European Commissioner for Research, Innovation and Science said: “The quality of the entries to this competition continues to amaze me, and I congratulate all the participants.

“Research and innovation spring from a diversity of ideas, so we must allow young people the freedom to develop their ideas and create.

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Ms Geoghegan-Quinn added:

“We also have to work harder to increase female participation in science and technology. These are real challenges for our education systems.”

Minister for Education and Skills, Jan O’Sullivan, also congratulated Paul on his latest success.