Meet the winners
Today the winners of The Big Bang Competition have been announced. Held at The Big Bang Fair, the spectacular awards ceremony followed a day-long showcase of talented young STEM innovators.
The top 3 winners are:
- UK Young Engineer of the Year, supported by Thales: Kanav Jain, a student from Broxburn, Scotland. Currently in S4, Kanav and entered via a community group – First Step Robotics.
- UK Young Technologists of the Year, supported by Siemens: Daniel Brownlee and Luke Johnston, year 11 students from Cookstown High School in Northern Ireland
- UK Young Scientists of the Year: Jessica Dowdall, Lauren Dowdall, Martha Pugh and Meike Oakes, a team of year 7 students from Hexham Middle School in Northumberland
The winning projects
UK Young Engineer of the Year, supported by Thales, Kanav Jain: ‘AeroAid: autonomous VTOL quadplane’
Kanav was inspired to help people in rural and remote regions where the delivery of essential emergency supplies is challenging due to lack of reliable road access. Using his passion for drones, he has designed and developed a small, low-cost autonomous aircraft that can carry and deliver medicines and other essential supplies quickly and efficiently.
The UK Young Technologists of the Year, supported by Siemens, Daniel Brownlee and Luke Johnston: ‘TrailTalk: AI-powered experience mapping’.
The team created an app to help travellers find experiences that match how they want to feel, instead of prioritising popularity and ratings as existing platforms do. The talented duo built TrailTalk using AI, voice input and GPS data to help people discover places that meet both their practical and emotional needs.
UK Young Scientists of the Year, Jessica Dowdall, Lauren Dowdall, Martha Pugh and Meike Oakes: ‘The plant perfectionists - how does different masses of biochar affect plant growth?’
Passionate about climate action, the team wanted to explore different ways to grow plants and food. Through experimenting with adding biochar, a form of charcoal that locks carbon in soil, the team discovered a way to improve plant growth, while also reducing carbon emissions.
As well as these top prizes, a host of category winners and runners-up were also announced, including 9 special awards.
Dr Hilary Leevers Chief Executive of EUK Education who run The Competition, said “Massive congratulations to Daniel, Jessica, Kanav, Lauren, Luke, Martha, Meike and all the winners and runners-up. Their curiosity and creativity have driven them to produce some brilliant STEM projects addressing some really big societal problems. They should all be very proud of their dedication and hard work. Competitions like The Big Bang Competition help young people connect their passions with making a real-world difference, it shows young people a future in engineering and technology is possible for them.”
Massive congratulations to Daniel, Jessica, Kanav, Lauren, Luke, Martha, Meike and all the winners and runners-up. Their curiosity and creativity have driven them to produce some brilliant STEM projects addressing some really big societal problems. They should all be very proud of their dedication and hard work.
— Hilary Leevers, Chief Executive of EUK Education