Hundreds of students are putting their finishing touches to projects for one of the largest exhibitions in the 40-year history of the Young Scientist competition, writes Carl O'Brien.
The competition, now known as the Esat BT Young Scientist & Technology Exhibition, takes place in the RDS from January 6th to 10th. It will include almost 500 projects across a range of categories.
As part of the 40th anniversary celebrations, the sponsors have welcomed all previous winners to visit the exhibition and attend a special gala dinner.
Ms Grace O'Connor from Thurles, Co Tipperary, who co-won the competition in 1989 with a project on alternative uses for crops, said it instilled her with great confidence.
She went on to complete a degree in biochemistry, win a scholarship to study medical oncology in the United States and she now works as a pharmacist.
"It was a wonderful opportunity to travel, and gave you the drive to go on," she said. "The experience of putting the project together was wonderful and helped all the way through college."
The chief executive officer of Esat BT and BT Northern Ireland, Mr Bill Murphy, said the number of entries this year showed that the Young Scientist exhibition remained at the "heartbeat of the science community" in Ireland.
Most entries in the 2004 exhibition are in the social and behavioural science category (182), followed by biological and ecological sciences (149), chemical, physical and mathematical sciences (85) and technology (65).
Mr Murphy also said the emphasis on technology was a central part of the new exhibition and this was reflected in school.
"Technology is fast becoming a fundamental part of school life, and we will continue to work with the Government to ensure that the generation we see at Young Scientist are totally equipped to take their place in Ireland's information society," Mr Murphy said.
He thanked the Minister for Education, Mr Noel Dempsey, for helping to fund this year's exhibition. The organisers are also expecting higher numbers of school tours for this year's event which they hope will encourage second-level students to consider science and technology subjects as a third-level option.
The winner of this year's exhibition will receive €3,000 and get the chance to represent Ireland at the European Union Contest for Young Scientists. This event will be held in Dublin for the first time in September 2004.
For further information, log on to: www.esatys.com