Aside from their attempted take down of Facebook, Google has other ventures to attend to as well. Whether it’s introducing new Google Doodles that recognize St. Basil’s Cathedral and beta launches of Google Offer, they also flexed some of their altruistic muscles with the inaugural Google Science Fair. In fact, the winners of the science fair have been named, and you can’t help but wonder if the winners, even if they are currently teenagers, may have Google jobs waiting on them when their higher education is finished.
According to the Google blog, winners from three age groups have been named, and judging by the description of the winners, they clearly showed off the scientific talent in impressive ways. The winners, by age group, are as follows:
Lauren Hodge in the 13-14 age group. Lauren studied the effect of different marinades on the level of potentially harmful carcinogens in grilled chicken. Naomi Shah in the 15-16 age group. Naomi endeavored to prove that making changes to indoor environments that improve indoor air quality can reduce people’s reliance on asthma medications. Shree Bose in the 17-18 age group. Shree discovered a way to improve ovarian cancer treatment for patients when they have built up a resistance to certain chemotherapy drugs.
There was also an overall winner announced, and that designation went to Shree Bose, with her impressive cancer treatment study. Not only were the winners rewarded for their scientific talents, their findings can also be implemented by the general public. This is especially important when dealing with such subjects as cancer and asthma. Any progress on these fronts, even it is from a younger group than one might expect, is welcome. The blog entry goes on to say:
[The winners] examined complex problems and found both simple solutions that can be implemented by the general public—like changing your cooking habits or removing toxins from your home—as well as more complex solutions that can be addressed in labs by doctors and researchers, such as Shree’s groundbreaking discovery, which could have wider implications for cancer research.
Can you imagine the implications if it was a non-adult who uncovered important information that affected the way cancer is treated, making these treatments more effective? A Lego trophy would only be the beginning of the accolades such a person would receive. As for the prizes the winners received, contributing to the awards were Google, CERN, LEGO and National Geographic:
Shree received a $50,000 scholarship, a trip to the Galapagos Islands with a National Geographic Explorer and an internship at CERN. Naomi and Lauren each received $25,000 scholarships and internships at Google and LEGO. All three were awarded lifetime digital subscriptions to Scientific American.
The LEGO internship sounds about as awesome as being an intern can be; although, there’s no word if the winners will be able to contribute to the life-sized Lego creations that pop up on a consistent basis. I mean, what good is a LEGO internship if you can’t build awesome models? On a more serious side, Google created a YouTube page for their science fair, and while there’s not any video of the winners’ announcement — yet — there’s still some good content to be found there, especially for those who didn’t take part in this year’s contest, but are looking forward to participating in next year’s.
