In science we trust

After the announcement from the stage, “From Chiang Rai, Thailand, Charuntorn Doungnga and Runglawan Charpugdee”, as winners of one of the Sigma Xi Special Awards, loud cheers and excited shrieks and applause from a group of 50 Thais were heard in a conference hall in Phoenix, Arizona.

The Thai group consisting of students, teachers, and staff from the Science Society of Thailand and the Thailand National Electronics and Computer Technology Centre recently attended the “Intel International Science and Engineering Fair” (ISEF) in Phoenix. 

For most of the public who equate science with jargon and complex equations, ISEF is just another acronym that stands for “who cares!” But in the science world, ISEF is the most prestigious annual event for the young brightest minds in science and engineering from around the globe to showcase their promising projects.

ISEF dates back to 1950 when the fair was founded by the Society for Science and the Public, a non-profit organisation that administers the event. This world’s largest international pre-college science competition has been sponsored by Intel since 1997. 

This year about 1,700 high-school students from more than 75 countries, regions and territories showcased their research projects as they compete for US$4 million (Bt140 million) in prizes. Among them were 27 of the best and brightest Thai students.

The atmosphere of the exhibition was energised by the determination and the faith of the brainy teens from different parts of the world enthusiastically explaining their projects and ideas. At the 11 Thai booths, young representatives proudly dressed up in beautiful traditional costumes, which helped draw attention from the crowd. The students said later that they were very excited but didn’t show any hint of it in front of the public. Instead, they confidently communicated their ideas and charmed onlookers with their trademark “Siamese smiles”.

“Though I don’t have a big vocabulary bank, I tried to communicate as well as I could. Communication doesn’t have to be limited to verbal forms, we can also use sign language – a laugh.” That is how Sureeporn Triphetprapa from Suratpittaya School in Surat Thani mastered her communicational skill.

Chetnarong Lowprukmanee from Nakhon Sawan School shared his impression of attending ISEF: “A lot of people visited our booth. We were so excited. We’d never dreamed of participating in such a huge event like ISEF. The most valuable experience for me is the friendship from international friends. It feels so good to meet like-minded folks.” 

Every year, the most anticipated moment for ISEF finalists is the Grand Awards Ceremony. And not only was the name Thailand announced twice that day, we were the only Asean nation to win Grand Awards this year.

Touchakorn Chintavalakorn and Puvanat Triamchanchai from Bangkok Christian College received third place in the Animal Sciences category.

They said: “This project started from our interest in Siamese fighting fish. We found that the number of fighting fish living in a natural habitat has been decreasing tremendously because of a polluted environment. We’re afraid that the fighting fish might be endangered, thus we decided to find a way to increase their numbers.

“After our research, we found a folk wisdom. By soaking dry leaves into the water that the fish inhabit, they have more vibrant colours and are healthier than the ones that live in normal water. So we applied this idea to help with the reproduction process of the fish. The dry leaves help to increase the mass and density of bubble nests and thus the survival rate of the baby fish.We’re so glad that our hard work has been recognised and we’d like to share this great experience with the next generation so they will be inspired to come up with some great projects.”

The biggest award for a Thai team this year was the second-place Grand Award in the Animal Sciences category, which went to Charuntorn Doungnga and Runglawan Charpugdee.

They said: “Our project is a continuous project from last year that also won the same award. Last year’s team developed a horizontal frame that could optimise silk sheath production by silkworms. We continued the study and found that the worms left on tilted frame always moved upwards while continue to produce silk sheath. So we experimented with different slopes and found that the worms on the 45-degree-tilted frame produced the best-quality silk sheath.

“Now most of the farmers in our village are using this new technique, which helps them to save both production costs and labour. We’re looking forward to developing our project so that it can help our neighbour farmers and eventually silkworm farmers across the country.”