Bavaria’s State-Wide “Young Scientists” Competition (“Jugend forscht”): 14 High School Students and Trainees Qualify for National Competition

Following months of preparation, the winners of the eleven Bavarian regional competitions presented their projects at the Deutsches Museum’s transport center. The topics ranged from analytical methods to prevent the spread of bark beetles through to the search for heavy neutrinos in kaon decays. The 30-member jury was particularly impressed by the compe-tition’s motivating atmosphere: “Beside the technical input, the ‘young scientist spirit’ is what makes this event so special,” said Dr. Monika Christl, head of the Bavarian state competition. “The young people’s enthusiasm spreads really quickly. Here, they meet like-minded people, build a network and feel appreciated. That is unbelievably motivating for them to continue.”

At this year’s ceremony held at Munich’s “Old Congress Hall,” Auguste Willems (Executive Board Member of Wacker Chemie AG), Prof. Wolfgang Heckl (Director General of the Deutsches Museum) and Delia Tietge (‘Jugend forscht’ foundation) honored eleven research projects in seven categories. “The winning projects show that young people are enthusiastic about science and adept at using technology and IT. That makes me optimistic about digitalization, which is accelerating in all sectors,” said Auguste Willems. “WACKER has been supporting the ‘Young Scientists’ competition for many years now. We are fully committed because we see that the competition provides a major boost to participants and their innovative work.”

The winners will represent Bavaria at the national competition in Darmstadt from May 24 – 27.

The winners of the Bavarian “Young Scientists 2018” competition are:

Working World
Topic: TOM: Total Organisation Manager
Name: Simon Niedt de Matos, Philipp Hohner, Ogün Aksoy
School/vocational training company: Robert Bosch GmbH, Bamberg

Biology
Topic: The Influence of V-A Mycorrhiza on the Mineral Absorption of Capsicum annuum (peppers) and Triticum aestivum cv. star (spring wheat)
Name: Laura Holecek
School/vocational training company: Gymnasium Alexandrinum Coburg

Chemistry
Topic: Energy Production via Chlorella vulgaris
Name: Moritz Hamberger
School/vocational training company: Katharinen-Gymnasium Ingolstadt

Geosciences and Astronomy
Topic: Simulation of the Temperature Conditions at the Moon’s South Pole
Name: Lukas Rother
School/vocational training company: Otto-von-Taube-Gymnasium Gauting

Mathematics and Information Technology
In this field, two first places were awarded:
Topic: Extending Waring’s Conjecture
Name: Michael Lantelme
School/vocational training company: Humboldt-Gymnasium Vaterstetten

Topic: Feder – A Programming Language
Name: Fionn Langhans
School/vocational training company: König-Karlmann-Gymnasium Altötting

Physics
In this field, two first places were awarded:
Topic: The Physics of the Sandglass
Name: Elias Kohler
School/vocational training company: Vöhlin-Gymnasium Memmingen

Topic: The Search for Heavy Neutrinos in Kaon Decays
Name: Elisabeth Walter
School/vocational training company: Paul-Pfinzing-Gymnasium Hersbruck

Engineering and Technology
In this field, two first places were awarded:
Topic: PointCopter – An Innovative QuadroCopter Control System
Name: Jonathan Fulcher, Luis Kleinwort
School/vocational training company: Wirsberg-Gymnasium Würzburg

Topic: Materials Testing System for Elastomers
Name: Noah Dormann
School/vocational training company: Chiemgau-Gymnasium Traunstein

Best Bavarian interdisciplinary project / special award of the Bavarian Ministry of Education, Science and the Arts
Topic: Physical Studies of Archery
Name: Paul Pöller
School/vocational training company: Wernher-von-Braun-Gymnasium Friedberg

Press photos of the presentation ceremony will be available from 3:30 p.m.:
www.jugend-forscht-bayern.de/gewinner

Photos of all participants at their exhibition stands are already available now: www.jugend-forscht-bayern.de/karte

About the Young Scientists Competition

“Young Scientists” is Europe’s largest competition for aspiring scientists and technologists, and fosters special talents and achievements in these areas. Launched in 1965 by Henri Nannen, the then editor-in-chief of Stern magazine, the competition is being held for the 53^rd time in 2018. The organizer of this annual contest is the Jugend forscht e.V. foundation, while the individual regional and state-wide heats and the national finals are held in partnership with corporate sponsors.

WACKER has been a corporate sponsor of the state-wide “Young Scientists” competition in Bavaria since 1998 and organizes this event every other year in Munich in collaboration with the Deutsches Museum.