Once again, the JKU and the Kaiserschild Foundation have teamed up to present awards in recognition of outstanding pre-academic papers.
In cooperation with the Kaiserschild Foundation, the Johannes Kepler University once again presented the Dr. Hans Riegel Awards in recognition of outstanding pre-academic papers. Over 81 papers were submitted by soon-to-be graduates at AHS schools.
The 9th annual awards honor the best submissions in the categories of Chemistry, Mathematics, Physics, Biology or Computer Science. The awards are accompanied with prize money totaling € 5,800. School students from throughout Upper Austria were invited to submit their pre-academic papers and once again, the results were impressive.
This year’s jury selected papers submitted by seven girls and seven boys. The young, gifted students focused on a variety of topics, including the application of modern semiconductor technologies in teslatrafos, the bacteriostatic effect of skin secretions of domestic amphibians, life on Mars, the influence of age and gender when doing math in your head, serverless computing, and the four-color-sentence.
Inspiring Young People to Pursue Research
Prof. Dr. Norbert Müller, Dean of the Faculty of Engineering & Natural Sciences, remarked: "Each year, the applicants’ enthusiasm for the Dr. Hans Riegel Awards become increasingly impressive. Exploring base-knowledge natural and life sciences, biology, chemistry, physics and mathematics as well as computer science based on practical questions is an important cornerstone of success for future generations and how our society advances through further developing science and technology. We would be delighted to welcome any of these students to the JKU Faculty of Engineering & Natural Sciences in the future!”
The Kaiserschild Foundation is committed to supporting young people, particularly in the so-called STEM subjects. The Dr. Hans Riegel Awards were designed to encourage young, gifted people to pursue a professional career in education, life sciences, or technology and engineering. In addition, the awards serve as a link between the schools and the university to support the exchange of information and introduce the award-winning students to the university system at an early stage. Anna Maria Bischof, deputy chairwoman of the Kaiserschild Foundation, added: "However, the Dr. Hans Riegel Award is only a first step. The Foundation's support for young people goes much further. After the awards ceremony, the award winners have an opportunity to take part in an alumni program. The program offers different event formats that provide insight into different scientific fields."
Experimentation, Critical Discussion and Analysis
School students this year also had the opportunity to present their research findings to a university jury consisting of JKU faculty members. The criteria to receive an award not only included being able to collect and reproduce textbook information, but also report on their own experiments and critically reflect on the findings.
The awards in each category were endowed with € 600 for first place, € 400 for second place, and € 200 euros for third place. In addition, the first-placed schools received an award of around € 250 in recognition of the work by supervising teachers.
The Winners in Individual Categories:
Mathematics
1st Place: Emil Dobetsberger, Gymnasium Dachsberg: „Moderne Verschlüsselung mittels elliptischer Kurven“
2nd Place: Katrin Hipmair, BG/BRG Enns: „Der Vier-Farben-Satz: Geschichte und Lösung eines anschaulichen mathematischen Problems“
3rd Place: Jan Kolnberger, WEG/ORG Wels: „Einfluss von Alter und Geschlecht auf die Kopfrechenfähigkeit“
Physics
1st Place: Moritz Hillinger, BG/BRG Bad Ischl: „Anwendung moderner Halbleitertechnologien in Teslatrafos“
2nd Place: Elias Rubasch, BRG Steyr, Michaelerplatz: „Der ökologische Fußabdruck eines Elektroautos im Vergleich mit anderen Antriebsformen“
3rd Place: Alexandra Wagner, BRG Linz, Landwiedstraße: „Das Newton´sche Gravitationsgesetz: Grundlagen und Anwendungen“
Chemistry
1st Place: Julia Bicvic, BRG Linz, Solar City: „Vergleichende Ökobilanz ausgewählter Faktoren von PVC, PET und PLA“
2nd Place: Manuel Schachinger, BRG Wels, Anton-Bruckner-Straße: „Herstellung und Charakterisierung von DLC-Schichten“
3rd Place: Catharina Groenewold, BRG Schloss Wagrain: „Analyse von Automobilbauteilen aus Hochleistungskunststoffen“
Informatics/Computer Science
1st Place: Katharina Lehofer, BRG Linz, Hamerlingstraße: „Serverless Computing"
2nd Place: Elias Hanner, BRG Linz, Peuerbachstraße: „imulation von einfachen dynamischen Systemen mit Hilfe von Zellulären Automaten“
Biology
1st Place: Julia Riedl, BRG Schloss Wagrain: „Bakteriostatische Wirkung von Hautsekreten heimischer Amphibien“
2nd Place: Katrin Stöger, BRG Linz, Peuerbachstraße: „Vom Leben auf dem Mars: Hinweise auf Mikroorganismen in der Geschichte des Roten Planeten“
3rd Place: Lukas Neumüller, BRG Linz, Schulzentrum Kreuzschwestern: „Reprogrammierung adulter Stammzellen“
