| Science Competition winner Ruth Madden, a student at Largy College in Clones, Co Monaghan, claimed the Gold Award in Physical and Engineering at the Hong Kong Global Youth Science and Technology Bowl. She had already won the SciFest National Final, sponsored by Science Foundation Ireland, for her project 'The Microplastic Filter – A Small Solution to a Global Problem'.
Ruth’s work focused on reducing the volume of microplastics entering the environment through wastewater from domestic washing machines. She designed and constructed a filtration unit capable of intercepting microplastics as small as 0.1mm that can be retrofitted to existing standard domestic wastewater infrastructure. Ruth said she was "delighted" to have won and said the award "does not just recognise my efforts" but is also an acknowledgement of the support and encouragement from her family and the staff of Largy College. Two other Irish students - Timothy McGrath of Killorglin Community College, Co Kerry and Alice Shaughnessy, of Calasanctius College, Galway – also qualified for the Hong Kong event. GYSTB is organized by The Hong Kong Federation of Youth Groups and was broadcasted live globally on 1 August. The competition attracted entries from 22 countries and regions across the globe. Ninety-three finalists were selected for online judging. Two other Irish students succeeded in winning awards having qualified for the finals after winning at the 2019 SciFest National Final. Timothy McGrath from Killorglin Community College, Kerry won a first-place award in the Biology and Chemistry category and Alice Shaughnessy, Calasanctius College, Galway a third-place award in the Physics and Engineering category.
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Ruth's Interview on News2Day
