Diya Vincent and Chris Kalogroulis have been awarded the top prizes in The Big Bang UK Young Scientists and Engineers Competition. Ms Vincent, a Year 7 student at Sevenoaks School in Kent, has been awarded the GSK UK Young Scientist of the Year title for her project ‘Microgreens from Goldfish’.

As part of the experiment, she grew microgreens using fertilised water from an aquarium and then compared them, using three different methods. Meanwhile, Mr Kalogroulis (18), currently in his first year studying Design Engineering at Imperial College, has been awarded the GSK UK Young Engineer of the Year title for his project Flip, which saw him create a ‘striking, sustainable and minimalist mechanical clock’ that allowed him to learn and apply mechanics, electronics and programming.

Over 300 young people from across the country were selected to be digital finalists in The Big Bang Competition — an annual contest designed to recognise young people’s achievements in all areas of science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM), and to help them develop skills and confidence through project-based work.

The finals usually take place at The Big Bang Fair each March, but when that was cancelled because of the coronavirus, the students were asked to submit a video presentation, and 50 STEM professionals (with specialisms in a range of areas, including astronomy, antimicrobials, health monitoring, underwater acoustics and toxicology) then chose the winners. They win £2,000 in prize money, as well as a trophy and a certificate.

Hilary Leevers, chief executive of Engineering UK, which organises The Big Bang Competition, said: “The judges were blown away by the quality of entries from all the finalists — not only their brilliant new ideas but also how eloquently they spoke about them in their videos. We’ve also been really impressed by the students’ passion and their resilience in taking part in spite of the hugely challenging circumstances, including some students being in self-
isolation during the process.”