A Mayo student has won a top prize at SciFest@TUS Athlone, one of Ireland’s largest regional science fairs for second-level students, held this week at the Technology University of the Shannon (TUS), Athlone Campus.
The prestigious "Boston Scientific Medical Devices Award" went to Dana Carney of Mount St Michael Secondary School in Claremorris. The school scored a hat trick in the “Junior Technology – Individual” category, taking home the gold, silver and bronze.
Dana's project concerned the use of a mobile application and a machine learning model to aid Ireland's emergency services with communication and interpretation of Irish Sign Language (ISL) for a safer and more inclusive society.
The Mount St. Michael’s student will now go forward to compete at the SciFest National Final in November 2024 for a chance to named SciFest STEM Champion 2024 and represent Ireland at the Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF) in May 2025 in Columbus, Ohio.
A total of 380 students competed in this year’s SciFest@TUS Athlone, showcasing their passion for and knowledge of science, engineering, technology, and maths.
More than 200 projects were on display, covering an array of scientific topics.
Michaela Gillooly, fifth year student at Glenamaddy Community School, Galway, took home the SciFest “Best Project” overall award for her investigation into the relationship between the menstrual cycle and female athletic performance.