Creative Minds Honored: Jugend Forscht Award Ceremony in Bad Kissingen
Great excitement prevailed at the ceremonial award ceremony of the 41st regional competition “Jugend forscht” Unterfranken in Bad Kissingen. The Region Mainfranken GmbH invited over 400 guests to the closing event of the two-day competition last Friday afternoon in the Wandelhalle of the Regentenbau.
District Administrator Thomas Bold, in his capacity as shareholder of Region Mainfranken GmbH, together with Bettina Gardenne, Managing Director of Region Mainfranken GmbH, Dr. Robert Christoph, Ministerial Commissioner for the Gymnasiums in Lower Franconia, and Heiko Brückner from the Government of Lower Franconia, presented the winner’s certificates to the proud prize winners.
In her speech, Bettina Gardenne emphasized the importance of the competition for promoting young talent in the region and thanked the city of Bad Kissingen for its excellent local support. This year again, the competition could count on the generous support of numerous companies and institutions. The sponsors included, among others, Glöckle Holding GmbH, HESCURO, IHK Würzburg-Schweinfurt, Labor LS SE Co. KG, Schaeffler Technologies AG Co. KG, the Sparkassen-Bezirksverband Unterfranken, VDI, Bavaria Yachtbau GmbH, Fränkische, IFSYS Integrated Feeding Systems GmbH, Pickel Partner mbB, Va-Q-Tec, ZF Friedrichshafen, Oswald and VR Bank Genossenschaft.
The competition mode distinguishes between two age categories: “Jugend forscht Junior” for students from the 4th grade and “Jugend forscht” for young people between 15 and 21 years old. The seven subject areas include the world of work, biology, chemistry, geo- and space sciences, mathematics/computer science, physics, and technology. A jury consisting of representatives from schools, universities, and businesses evaluated the submitted projects based on content, conceptual, and design criteria. The young researchers presented their work at specially designed exhibition stands and provided exciting insights into their research results.
Alexander Pabst, head of the regional competition, emphasized the importance of the committed support from school administrations, supervising teachers, and the jury. Their voluntary commitment is an essential component of “Jugend forscht” and a crucial incentive for students to engage with scientific questions.
The following projects were awarded as winners by the jury and have qualified for the state competitions “Jugend forscht” and “Jugend forscht Junior”:
JUGEND FORSCHT JUNIOR:
- Work Environment: AI MediCheck – Pill Recognition with AI
Anton Krumbholz, Seidel-Gymnasium Hösbach - Biology: The Pollinator Palace – the New Bee Hive
Mirijam Staskiewitz, Hanns-Seidel-Gymnasium Hösbach - Chemistry: Investigation of the Retrogradation Process
Yannick Arnold, Hanns-Seidel-Gymnasium Hösbach - Technology: Automatic Firefighting Robot
Elias Hans, Yüejün Wang, Karl-Theodor-von-Dalberg-Gymnasium - Physics: Why Doesn’t the Polar Bear Freeze? – Thermal Insulation Polar Bear Style
Leander Mohadjer, Constantin Reuter, Karl-Theodor-von-Dalberg-Gymnasium - Mathematics: Volume Determination of a Scutoid
Maximilian Schäfer, Friedrich-Dessauer-Gymnasium
JUGEND FORSCHT:
- Work Environment: Solar Bike for the School Route 3.0
Clara Hoppach, Riemenschneider-Gymnasium Würzburg - Biology: Immunohistology (IHC) for Subdifferentiation of Tumors in African Hedgehogs
Sophie Nöth, Jack-Steinberger-Gymnasium - Chemistry: The Gentle Revolution in Medical Technology: An Edible Battery
Elisabeth Fischermann, Tom Kreßbach, Julius-Echter-Gymnasium Elsenfeld
AND
Eco Electra – Green Electricity from Plants
Timo Spatz, Sophie Slowik, Hanns-Seidel-Gymnasium Hösbach - Geo and Space Sciences: The Search for Extraterrestrial Life on Two Exoplanets
Letizia Albert, Natalie Nieten, Dominik Freitag, Jack-Steinberger-Gymnasium - Technology: Climbing Like “Spider-Man” – Is It Really Possible?
Vincent Weigl, Kronberg-Gymnasium
Other participants were honored for their commitment with non-cash prizes.
IMAGE 1: Group picture of the prize winners
Image credit: Rudi Merkl
