Richard O'Shea, an 18-year-old sixth year student from Co Cork, has been named the winner of the BT Young Scientist & Technology Exhibition 2010.
He won the coveted prize for his project entitled, ‘A biomass fired cooking stove for developing countries’.
Richard was presented with a cheque for €5,000, a Waterford Crystal trophy and the opportunity to represent Ireland at the 21st European Union Contest for Young Scientists taking place in Lisbon, Portugal this coming September.
Chris Clark, CEO, BT said ‘It has been an incredibly successful exhibition and we are delighted that schools from both the Republic and Northern Ireland have won top prizes.
‘The 2010 exhibition has really resonated with those that participated this year, perhaps due to the increasing realisation that its focus on skills and innovation has never been as important for our economic growth.’
Leonard Hobbs, Chief Judge, Technology category said, ‘Richard received the prestigious honour for his pioneering work on the design of a biomass-fuelled cooking stove for use in developing countries.
‘Over 2 billion people in the world depend on stoves to cook their meals every day, and his project built a new one which uses as little fuel as possible and which ideally produces no smoke.
‘Richard made a strong impression on the judges with his detailed research into the chemical processes involved in burning timber, and with the various designs he came up with using very simple materials such as tin cans and nails which are very easy to find in Third World countries.
‘An added bonus is that his stoves can be built using simple tools such as a Swiss army knife. Richard impressed us with both his science knowledge and the engineering skill he showed in his construction work.’
