Past winners
The RCSU hosted the final awards ceremony for the 2023 Science Challenge at the Sir Alexander Fleming Building in South Kensington.
The Science Challenge aims to give young scientists the opportunity to develop the skills to talk about science in an engaging and fun way to people who don’t necessarily have a science background.
The winners of each category were Hannah Franklin (Ocean Exploration), Haider Rizvi (Space Exploration), Yiannis Scotiniadis (Science across Scales), Aadhavan Balachandran (Turning Points - School), and Aryan Khedkar (Turning Points - Imperial).
Winners for 2023
Overall winner
Haider Rizvi
Dr Tom Crawford's question
How do we clean the ocean? It’s clear that our oceans are heavily polluted with rubbish, microplastics, and chemicals but what do you think would be the best way to fix this problem?
Winner: Hannah Franklin
Runner up: Nabil Alizadeh
Vanessa Madu's question
Tell us a story about a major scientific discovery that has, or you think will happen through space exploration. Think about who the characters are? Were there any conflicts? What were the circumstances? What was/will be the discovery? What were/will be the consequences? Is that story still ongoing?
Winner: Haider Rizvi – Q2 Winning Entry for 2023 RCSU Science Challenge
Runner up: Aaqib Waafaa and Otonye Ibiama
Professor Kathy Sykes' question
I’d like you to describe a new frontier or dimension in science you think we’re going to explore which will teach us more about ourselves, our world, or our Universe.
Winner: Yiannis Scotiniadis
Runner up: Anna Rantakari and Laila Ahmed
Professor Lord Robert Winston's question
You are a science journalist of a national newspaper – either The Telegraph or The Sun. The editors, Madeline Pontificate of The Telegraph and Roddy Simplidone of The Sun, have asked for a piece to be published over the Christmas period or Easter holidays. They want you to consider the three most important inventions produced since Homo sapiens stood on Earth. Justify your choice and rank them in order of significance, discussing their impact. You may choose for which newspaper you decide to write and both editors have equal space for exactly 1500 words give or take 10 words more or less; there is a space to choose one picture if you wish.
School Winner: Aadhavan Balachandran
Imperial Winner: Aryan Khedkar
School runner ups: Elisa Rodríguez Moreno and Sofiya Flenova
Imperial runner ups: Eshaan NIraj Rajesh Kumar and Wing Yu Helen Wong
Special Prize winners
- RCSU Innovative Approach winner: Aaqib Waffa
- RCSU Visuals winner: Otonye Ibiama
- RCSU Multi-Media winner: Panche Gurev-Markovachev
- RCSU Humour winners: Yiannis Scotiniadis and Nina Koziol-Webster
- RCSU Production Quality winner: Sophia Davey
- Young Scientist's Journal Spoken Communication winner: Alex Kang
- RCSU Written Communication winner: Aryan Khedkar
Past winners
2022
Winners for 2022
Professor Richard Templer's question
By the end of this decade we need to start removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere if we are to avoid irreversible climate changes. I would like you to critically analyse an approach that is currently being developed from carbon dioxide removal and create a video that describes your findings for a general audience.
Winner: Clare Jin
Runners up: Masha Ullah-Radiguet and Mukta Sandeep Burde
Shortlisted:
- Achyuth Sriniva Rajagopalan
- Amelie Kearns
- Ayushi Thakur
- Charmee Panchal
- Elaab Tsegaye
- Lai Yan Tung
- Rachael Lam
- Qiuyu Duan
- Misaki Hiroya
Dr Paulo Ceppi's question
How do we know that we humans are causing climate change, rather than natural phenomena?
Winner: Marianne Peuch
Imperial College London Winner: Vanessa Madu
Shortlisted:
- Alexandra Khromova
- Arran Kinnear
- Clark Khaylle H.Lopez
- Jasmine Withers
- Jennifer Carless
- Jonathan Panett-smith
- Lauren Lendrevie
- Margaret Liu
- Wangxing Guo
- Simra Yousaf
- Noyonika Smanta
- Saii Anandita Prakash
Professor Kathy Sykes' question
What message would you, as a scientist, like to deliver to a leader in your country about climate change? So, a Prime Minister or President or local leader. What evidence would you use to back up your message?
Winner: Zerlynde Goik
Runner up: Muhammed Omar Farooq
Shortlisted:
- Anika Mhetras
- Catherine James
- Dhruv Gadgil
- Jap Annette Hoi Ching
- Seren Wardle
Lord Robert Winston's question
Winner: Pyncha Soottreenart
Runners up: Milo Smith, Dominika Grabik and Nina Van Derlip
Shortlisted:
- Annesha Rajesh Tandel
- Caitlyn Koay Yen Zi
- Charlie Owen
- Eleanor Gill
- Evelyn Elspeth Dike
- Fedra Androulidaki
- Isabela Maria Codo Costa Barra
- James McNeill
- Joshua Odonnell
- Kiran Vijay
- Oliver Gaunt
- Rohan Selva-Radov
- Ved Bhagavathula
- Yash Pincha
- Zaigham Aizad
2021
Overall winner
Imperial (individual)
Oliver Nash
Schools (Individual)
Cem Muminoglu
Schools (Team)
Nikita Kurgan, Amika Piplapure, Chloé Lesjongard and Narthana Jayaweerasingham
Overall runner-up
Imperial (Individual)
Maria Emily Jenkinson Alvarez
Schools (Individual)
Emma Vestergaard Poulse
Schools (Teams)
Surabhi Srivastava, Jaya Bhardwaj and Isabella Smith
Category: Imperial (Individual)
First place
Lauren Wheeler
Oliver Nash
Maria Emily Jenkinson
Second place
Suthinee Phanuvatsuk
Shahbanno Ahmad Hussain
Blazej Jozef Rzeszowski
Third place
Julia Dabrowska
Hannah Jayne Knight
Isabela Maria Codo Costa Barra
Category: Schools (Individual)
First place
Emma Vestergaard-Poulsen
Megan Twum-Barima
Freddie Evans
Cem Muminoglu
Second place
Casey Dylan Abrahams
Daniel Keith Chan
Shivi Gupta
Nicole Baxter
Third place
Nizara Ziaudeen
Suvek Sarda
Katie Hogben
Sophie Hodge
Preesha Jain
Category: Schools (Teams)
First place
Anna-Sophie Fellows, Roksan Keyhanian, Sarah Aruliah
Nikita Kurgan,Amika Piplapure, Chloé Lesjongard, Narthana Jayaweerasingham
Rachel Wai Yee Tam, Yiqian Wu, NianYi Lim
Surabhi Srivastava, Jaya Bhardwaj, Isabella Smith
Second place
Polina Ivanushkina, Phoebe Bonner, Lia Tzouves
Shrish Janarthanan, Abhay Nischal, Tara Aksoy
Leona Ahamed, Tarini Deleep, Tanvi Sattiraju
Charlie Aram, Natasha Sweeting, Eliza Tabachnik, Arabella Heath
Third place
Charmee Panchal, Riya Gupta, Dhaksh Rajesh
Tanushree Nag, Isha Atreja, Natalia Potemska
Alen Saracevic, Ludovica Riegler, Una Saric
Filip Kennedy Amelia Doyle Kyra Shankar
Avni Ladwa, Kiara Patel, Thulasii Gowripalann, WenyueZhu
2019
Science Challenge 2019
Prof. Armand Leroi's Question 'How will A.I.s turn art into science?'
Winners
Anita Chandran Overall winner (Imperial)
Igor Sterner Overall winner (School)
Schools runners-up
2. Aayushi Jhaveri
3. Lara Tatli
Imperial runners-up
2. Abdul Zafar
3. Shun Wong
Lord Christopher Fox's Question: 'Imagine/project how A.I. will improve people's lives by 2035. Propose the role of natural Scientists in making this happen.'
Winners
James M Harrison (Imperial)
Natalia Kubala (Schools)
Schools runners-up
2. Matthew Lewis
3. Maddy Board
Imperial runners-up
2. Isabelle Zhang
3. Ayoub Bencheckron
Dr. Dalal Alrajeh's QuestioN: 'A.I. nowadys plays an instrumental role in developments in the natural sciences - these have included predicting chemical reactions, discovering protocols for stem cell differentiation and most recently, predicting 3D shapes of proteins (DeepMind, Google). In the future, could A.I. replace human scientists and why?'
Winners
Ronan Docherty (Imperial)
Nouri Ezaz Nikpay (Schools)
Schools runners-up
2. Minseok Ryu
3. Diya Salahudin
Imperial runners-up
2. Juanita Bawagan
3. Zaynah Ahmed
Lord Robert Winston's Task: 'Human consciousness is the great unsolved puzzle in biology. How can we make artificial intelligence?'
Winners
Patrick Masso Walsh (Imperial)
Sophia Sergeeva (Schools)
Schools runners-up
2. Emike Akagbosu
3. Khoo Jaylen
Imperial runners-up
2. Jakub Dranczewski
3. Lorenzo Signore
2018
Science Challenge 2018
Dr Shini Somara's Question: 'To what extent have giant leaps in scientific progress been influenced by shifts within the scientists themselves?'
Winners
Yue Wang (Imperial)
Layana Sani (Schools)
Schools runners-up
2. Roberto Parisi
3. Beverley Luu
Imperial runners-up
2. Daisy Roger-Simmonds
3. Sanziana Foia
Dr Felicia Yap's Question: 'Select a scientific discovery or technological development from the past 5 years. Now, imagine a single day in the year 2048. How will this breakthrough affect daily life?'
Winners
Max Festenstein (Imperial)
Tamanna Jithesh (Schools)
Schools runners-up
2. Grace Lee
3. Yunzhe Li
Imperial runners-up
2. Francine Tran
3. Veronika Sigutova
Prof. Lord Oxburgh’s Question: 'In June 2017, a giant iceberg the size of Delaware broke off the Larsen C Ice Shelf in West Antarctica, creating an 80 mile long crack in the ice. How do relatively small shifts, rifts and changes lead to a long lasting effect on our planet's climate?'
Winners
James Harrison (Imperial)
Serena Qiao (Schools)
Schools runners-up
2. Jeremy Boyle
3. Fiona (Jianing) You
Imperial runners-up
2. Lloyd James
3. Georgia Green
Dr Martin Archer's Question: 'What small area of current research do you think has the potential to revolutionise our lives and why?'
Winners
Patrick Masso Walsh
Isabelle Worssam
Schools runners-up
2. Ping Zhu
3. Millie Knight and Sophie Mallison
Imperial runners-up
2. Jakub Dranczewski
3. Jonathan Davies and Rielly Newbold
2015
Science Challenge 2015
Mun Keat Looi's Question: 'Tell me a story of (about or from) science. Who are the characters? What is its beginning, middle - and how does it "end"?'
Winners
Dimitrios Karponis (Imperial)
Joel Holmes (Schools)
Schools runners-up
2. Alexandra Constantinou
3. Qingwei Zhang
Imperial runners-up
2. Catherine Saunders
3. Harald Grantham-Hill
Prof. Sue Gibson's Question: 'What would you like to discover and why?'
Winners
Daniel O'Reilly (Imperial)
Peter Gobbett (Schools)
Schools runners-up
2. Chian Ying Xuan
3. Tahirah Uddin
Imperial runners-up
2. Daniel Marx
3. Stefan Grossfurthner
Ruth Whincup's Question: 'How do we get the next generation interested in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Maths)?'
Winners
Joon Faii Ong (Imperial)
Kathryn Jaitly (Schools)
Schools runners-up
2. Abbie Currington
3. Akhil Sonthi
Imperial runners-up
2. Ray Otsuki
3. Mayurdhvajsinh Gohil
Prof. Philip Moriarty's Task: 'Why should I believe a scientist? (Video challenge)'
Overall Winner
Lawrence Berry Westminster School
Runners Up
Dania Badran
Michael Florea
2014
Science Challenge 2014
Prof. Fay Dowker's question: 'What does science tell us about the nature of time?'
Winners
Paul Boes (Imperial)
Ella Creamer (Schools)
Schools runners-up
2. Hannah Coop
3. Abbie Currington
Imperial runners-up
2. Lucy Binfield
3. Sarah Byrne
Pallab Ghosh's question: Write a letter to my five year old daughter, Charlotte, about how one or more areas of science, technology, engineering or medicine that fascinate you will have developed by the time she is at University and which subject you would encourage her to study and why?
Winners
Emma Wills (Imperial)
Rebecca Daramola (Schools)
Schools runners-up
2. Jesse Cheung
3. Assankhan Amirov
Imperial runners-up
2. Anne-Hermine Allain
3. Vanessa Place
Jon Kudlick's question: 'How should we decide which species to prioritise for conservation?'
Winners
Timothy Thomas (Imperial)
Chung Yee Chan (Schools)
Schools runners-up
2. Arthur Li
3. Matthias Butler
Imperial runners-up
2. Batool Raza
3. Nicole Levikov
Dr Jad Marrouche's question: 'Explain a scientific concept of your choice in a 3-minute video.'
Winners
Matthew I Murchie (Imperial)
Runners Up
Bernadeta Dadonaite (Imperial)
Dania Badran (Schools)
2013
Science Challenge 2013
Sir Roy Anderson's question: 'What are the scientific challenges facing the development of pathogens against vaccines with hyper-variable genome sequences?'
Winners
Ben Bleasdale (Imperial)
Elena Rastorgueva (Schools)
Second Place
Abbie Currington (Schools)
Third Place
Shing-him Cho (Imperial)
Devang Metha (Schools)
Sir Brian Hoskin's question: 'Is public debate a good forum for discussing science issues such as climate change?'
Winners
Nicholas Thapen (Imperial)
Matthew Willis (Schools)
Second Place
Daniel Marx (Imperial)
Jennifer Thorpe (Schools)
Third Place
James Bezer (Imperial)
Elizabeth Bowes (Schools)
Lord Robert Winston's question: 'Why are so many students being put off studying science at school?'
Winners
Amanda Diez (Imperial)
Theresita Joseph (Schools)
Second Place
Amelia Chong (Imperial)
Cavin Corriette (Schools)
Third Place
Sebastien Wood (Imperial)
Alice Pritchard (Schools)
Dr Jad Marrouche's question: 'Explain a scientific concept of your choice in a 3-minute video.'
Winners
Sang Eun Lee
Mei Ran Abellona U
Bernadeta Dadonaite
Runners Up
Richard Flint (Imperial)
Joshua Banner (Schools)