THIS YEAR MARKED student Amy O’Donoghue’s second time at the BT Young Scientist and Technology Exhibition, and she’s sad that it will be her last.

The 17-year-old hopes to go to university after her time at St Andrew’s College in Dublin comes to an end later this year, but she’ll always treasure her experiences at the exhibition.

Here’s what she told us about what it means to Irish students:

(Video TheJournal.ie/YouTube)

Another student who enjoyed his time there this year was Paul Clark from St Paul’s College in Raheny – who ended up being the overall winner of the competition.

His project was on the mathematical subject of graph theory, specifically contributions to cyclic graph theory, and his discoveries hugely impressed the judges.

When TheJournal.ie spoke to Clarke before the results were announced, it was clear he had enjoyed the opportunity to undertake a more niche project for the exhibition.

“Pure mathematical subjects are certainly not the most common in these kind of general science competitions – so it’s great to bring some balance to the whole equation,” said Clark, “and get people realising how much pure mathematics actually contributes to their world.”

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