Philip Cardona, a student at Mcast's Institute of Electrical Engineering and Electronics, won second prize in the EU Contest for Young Scientists (EUCYS) held at the Palais de la Découverte in Paris, France.
Cardona's winning project was a 'Cappuccino logo printer' that uses food colouring to print pre-defined designs on the froth of a cappuccino. The designs can include logos, text, images and messages. They can also be drawn on the froth of beer, or even on cakes. The project generated a lot of interest among visitors, officials and even the other contestants throughout the contest.
Cardona, 20, got the idea for the project while working in a bar in summer. When preparing cappuccinos, he always tried to make them more attractive by creating designs on the froth. This evolved into an idea for a machine which could print such designs.
The EUCYS contestants were aged between 14 and 20, and came from 38 countries across Europe, as well as Canada, China, Japan, New Zealand, South Korea and the US.
A total of 87 winning projects from national competitions were presented, covering a wide range of scientific disciplines from engineering to biology, mathematics, chemistry, physics, medicine, computer and social sciences. The projects were evaluated by a pan-European 17-member scientific jury.
The event provides a unique showcase of the best European student scientific projects, and some previous projects have led to scientific breakthroughs or the creation of new businesses. For winners of the various awards it has also proved to be an important springboard for their future scientific careers. During their stay in Paris, the young researchers also met eminent scientists.
"Science and research needs fresh blood and fresh ideas. Europe needs to encourage the best young talents to take up a career in science and we must make these careers attractive to our future researchers," said European Science and Research Commissioner Janez Potocnik. "The high quality of the projects in competition is a positive signal, showing that Europe is a real reservoir of talent."
Cardona took part in the EUCYS after he had placed first in the national contest for young scientists held by the National Students Travel Foundation (NSTF) during its annual Science Week in March.
Students interested in taking part in next year's contest, which will decide who represents Malta at the 2010 EUCYS to be held in Lisbon, and at the Expo Science Europe in Moscow, should contact Mariella-Pia Tabone, head of educational and cultural affairs at NSTF on mtabo@nsts.org or visit www.nsts.org.