Image of

A TRIO of brainy East London pupils have outsmarted over 500 teens from around the country.

The three pupils had their ideas – on street lamps, river water and handwriting – recognised by experts at the 2009 National Eskom Expo For Young Scientists on Saturday at the University of Pretoria.

They were selected out of 553 pupils from different provinces in the country. As a result, next year they will jet off to represent the country at various international science expo events overseas.

Stirling High Grade 9 pupil James Foulkes and Merrifield College pupils Sarah Taylor, in Grade 9, and Dakota Corbett, in Grade 8, were among 18 Border entrants.

Foulkes and Corbett received gold medals and Taylor a silver.

Speaking to the Daily Dispatch this week, Corbett, who entered the Innovation Technology category, said she was excited that her project, Starless Starry Night, had been selected.

“It’s about redesigning streetlight s to reduce light pollution,” she said. She designed an Electro-Lite – a cover for streetlamps made out of of recycled plastic.

The idea is also to replace the current 160watt bulbs with 23-watt CFI bulbs similar to the low energy bulbs introduced by Eskom. “The bulb is then connected to a wireless connection and a dynamo (a form of a generator), which will enable streetlights to dim according to the popularity of the road,” she explained.

“If there are only a few people using a certain road, then the light will not be as bright as when the road is busy.

“And also, if there is a full moon, the lights will turn dim and if it’s dark there will be more light. This, together with the (Electro-Lite) lamp, will reduce light pollution, as unnecessary light will not be directed to the sky. Misdirected light causes a pink and orange colour in the sky, which hides the stars from view and interferes with nocturnal animals,” Corbett said.

“The light will (also either) be powered by solar and wind turbines and will charge the (back-up) battery with 48-hour capacity, which will either be built-in in the lamp (post) or underground,” Corbett said.

Corbett said she was surprised when her name was called out by judges. “I didn’t think I would make it. I thought Grade 10s and up stood a better chance of being selected.”

Corbett will participate at the International Sustainable World Energy, Engineering and Environment Project Expo in the United States in April.

Taylor said she was also happy to represent the country overseas with her Up The Creek project, based on testing levels of faecal coliforms and Ecoli at Nahoon River.

“I wanted to establish if the water was suitable for recreational activities.”

Taylor discovered that the levels of these bacteria were higher after heavy rains when she tested the water in April this year.

She will represent the country in Taiwan in February.

Foulkes has conducted research into whether styles of handwriting are passed down genetically.

“I asked my family and friends to write the same sentence and analysed it using information I obtained from graphologists based overseas. I discovered that everyone has his or her own unique handwriting (style).” Foulkes will participate at an international expo on Reunion Island.

Eskom Expo For Young Scientist regional co-ordinator Noreen Burton said the Border region did well at the expo.

“This is the best we’ve ever done,” she said, adding that the expo provided a platform for pupils to showcase their ideas. - By MSINDISI FENGU, msindisif@dispatch.co.za