Young scientists for international contest

Education Minister Louis Galea yesterday met a group of Form 2 students from St Augustine's College in Pietá who represented Malta in the Mediterranean Exposcience, which took place in Valbonne-Sophia Antipolis, in France last July.

Sander Grima, James Borg, Ambrose Galea, Neil Bugeja and Gabriel Ellul had previously won the local NSTF School Contest for Young Scientists.

In France the students won first prize for their environmental project entitled Air Pollution, What's The Solution? and will now participate in the International Exposcience in Chile this July.

Their project included research and data collection as well as several experiments about traffic pollution in Malta. The students came up with an invention, The Car Dust Grabber, a simple attachment to the car silencer which catches polluting particles in exhaust emissions.

The Exposcience International is a worldwide scientific competition between more than 100 countries and the next edition will take place in Santiago. The students are currently working on improving their project.

Dr Galea said the students have made Malta proud and augured that they enjoy their experience in Chile as representatives of Maltese young scientists. He said the ministry will be supporting the students in their expenses related to the International Exposcience.