Girls shine in 2016 Young Scientist Awards Presentations

For the second year in a row the top prize in the Young Scientist Awards has been taken out by a Regional Year 10 female. Macinley Butson, from The Illawarra Grammar School won the 2016 Sebel Young Scientist of the Year Award. As well as the $2,000 top prize and $1,550 she received in other cash prizes, Macinley won an all-expenses paid trip to the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF), in Los Angeles in May 2017.

Macinley will be joined in Los Angeles by Jade Moxey, Sapphire Coast Anglican School; Mary-Anne Poyitt, Redeemer Baptist School and Maddison King from Meriden School. Maddison is the first HSC Design and Technology student to be representing Australia at ISEF. In a competition that has previously been dominated by boys until girls took a slight lead last year, a massive 66% of the 129 individual awards in 2016 were won by girls. And that really says it all to those who continue to pontificate that boys are better at STEM.

If you want to get blown away by the young talent in NSW take a look at the full set of results and summaries of every winning project go to the 2016 Presentation Ceremony Record and also have a look at the 2016 ISEF Trip video to see what the girls will be experiencing in Los Angeles next year.

Congratulations to all the Young Scientist Award winners.