A transition year student from Kerry, who invented a system to tackle water contamination, will get the chance to get up close with one of the biggest health challenges affecting people in the Developing World, thanks to his success at the recent BT Young Scientist and Technology Exhibition (BTYS) in Dublin.<\/p>\n
Timothy McGrath says he couldn\u2019t believe it when he walked up on stage to receive the \u2018Science for Development Award\u2019 at the country\u2019s annual schools science fair. Timothy\u2019s invention received the Irish Aid sponsored prize as the entry that best addressed a development challenge faced by communities in poorer regions of the world.<\/p>\n
Using genetic engineering to purify cholera-infected water, his project sought to develop a micro-organism that feeds on the cholera bacteria.<\/p>\n
Timothy came up with his award-winning idea back in July, when he decided to combine his interest for microbiology with a desire to address challenges faced by third world countries:<\/p>\n
\u201cI was inspired by my uncle who was a parish priest in Waterford, and collected funds in his local parish to support the development of irrigation and water systems for a community in a small town in Kenya,\u201d Timothy said.<\/p>\n
The most challenging part of the project for him was to build his own homemade microbiology and centrifuge machines to multiply DNA and carry out the necessary tests. \u201cTo buy the equipment would have been way too expensive!\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
As a winner of the \u2018Science for Development Award\u2019, Timothy will receive a travel bursary from Irish Aid to travel to Africa with Gorta-Self Help Africa on a schools education trip next year.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was a shock to learn that I will get to travel to a third world country. I\u2019d love to gain a better understanding of how people live in that part of the world. Hopefully I will be able to develop my project and test it out when I\u2019m there.\u201d. For now, the student is hoping to work with Institutes such as University College Cork to develop his project further so it can be used on a wider scale.<\/p>\n
The Science for Development Award was established by the Development Education unit of Gorta-Self Help Africa more than a decade ago, to encourage teachers and students to develop ideas, using appropriate scientific technology, that look at the challenges faced by people in the Global South. Past winning projects include solar powered water purifiers, cooking stoves, solar refrigeration, seed storage and a seed planter.<\/p>\n
Photo: Timothy McGrath and\u00a0Minister of State Helen McEntee at the BTYS Exhibition in Dublin, January 2018.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"