A MASSIVE seven awards were scooped up by accomplished students from two Limerick schools at the Stripe Young Scientist and Technology Exhibition (YSTE).
The annual competition, which has seen a number of Limerick students take the top prize over its 62-year history, was held at the RDS in Dublin from January 7 to 10.
Coláiste Chiaráin in Croom and Desmond College in Newcastle West scooped up an impressive seven awards between them.
The overall award at the competition went to Aoibheann Daly from Mercy Secondary School Mounthawk in Kerry, for her ‘GiloScope’ tool, which was designed to help doctors improve the treatment of brain cancer. The tool helps in predicting what genetic mutation is likely to be present from a simple MRI brain scan, so doctors can make quicker treatment decisions and reduce risk for patients.
Three awards went to Coláiste Chiaráin over the weekend.
Miles Bueno and Sarah Hurley took both the AerCap sustainable Skies Award and second place in the Senior Technology Group category for their project ‘PowerPredict: Predicting outages up to 10 days in advance’.
Thomas O’Sullivan placed first in the Junior Individual category for his ‘Chirp’ project, described as a low-cost approach to bat monitoring using AI audio analysis.
Coláiste Chiaráin is no stranger to YSTE success, with Séan O’Sullivan taking home the top prize in 2024 for his ‘VerifyMe’ AI author authentication tool.
Four awards went to Newcastle West’s Desmond College, a school which also has a proud history of YSTE success.
Sophie Keane took home the Housing Agency Award and second place in the Senior Individual (Health and Wellbeing) category for her project ‘An effective medical solution for bed bugs’.
Daniel Doherty took home second place in the Junior Individual (Health and Wellbeing) category for his ‘Grip Geenie’ project, which aims to bring “comfort and confidence” to people experiencing grip issues, “one twist at a time”.
Nell McMahon placed third in the Intermediate Individual (Health and Wellbeing) category for her project ‘AsthmaSense: A system for recording and predicting asthma attacks’.
And it was a year with no shortage of Limerick links for the annual student competition, with new title sponsor Stripe added into the mix. Stripe was co-founded by Patrick Collison, a former Castletroy College Student and overall YSTE winner in 2005.
This year’s YSTE trophy was designed by Stripe and crafted from titanium grade 23 by Limerick-based Croom Medical from the save 3D printing technology made in the company’s orthopaedic implants.
“Its detailed design could not be produced using traditional manufacturing methods, reflecting the blend of engineering innovation and scientific discovery at the heart of the exhibition,” a YSTE spokeswoman said.
The YSTE competition was founded in 1965 by Dr Tony Scott and Rev Dr Tom Burke. It attracts over 40,000 visitors each year – making it one of the biggest events of its kind in Ireland – and has proved a launch pad for some of the country’s most accomplished scientific minds.