CAST Rewards Originality and Innovation at Intel ISEF
The China Association for Science and Technology (CAST) is the largest national non-governmental organization of scientific and technological workers in China. Through its member societies, the organization maintains close ties with millions of Chinese scientists, engineers and other people working in the fields of science and technology. CAST provides five awards of $3,000 to the projects that best reflect originality and innovation in all scientific disciplines at the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair (Intel ISEF).
Why does the China Association for Science and Technology sponsor an award at Intel ISEF?
As part of our mission to boost the development of science and technology and enhance science literacy, CAST hosts educational programs for pre-college students, including science contests. Over years of operating these contests, we have been amazed by the incredibly innovative ideas of young people and want to see their creativity last for a lifetime. We saw the same innovation and creativity in Intel ISEF contestants. Because of this, we feel it is our responsibility to support their gift and passion for science and inspire the next generation of scientists. Sponsoring young students conducting scientific research is an investment that can result in immense rewards for generations.
What made specific projects stand out at Intel ISEF?
What struck our special award organization judges the most about successful projects was the intelligence, persistence, and desire of the student to investigate the unknown world. Students who provide new ideas for real-world projects such as environmental protection, prevention of global warming, and advanced agriculture really have the ability to change the world.
Most recent winners:
The 2011 winners of CAST awards were Heitor Geraldo da Cruz Santos from Brazil for “Problematizing Pedagogy as a Nutritional Education Strategy: A Social Constructivist Approach,” Akash Krishnan from Oregon for “The Multimodal Real-Time Recognition of Emotion in Human Speech,” Yan Restu Freski and Darmadi Darmadi from Indonesia for “Opak River Mouth: A Unique Deflection,” Jan Kaeberich of Germany for “Ball Robot – An Instable System in Balance,” and Jonathon Li from California for “Effects of Cell Compressibility, Motility, and Contact Inhibition on the Growth of Tumor Cell Clusters.” Also pictured is Mr. Xiaoliang Li from CAST.
“I was honored to receive the China Association special award, and even more so knowing that the award was coming from another country. This is an example of international scientific cooperation, and I hope that this award spreads our research even further into the scientific community and into other countries.” -Akash Krisnan, 2011 Awardee
“Being selected as a recipient of the CAST award was an amazing experience. I remember the judge from CAST visiting my project; she really seemed to have understood, not only the main ideas of my project, but mostly the intensity with which my passion for science moves me.” -Heitor Santos, 2011 Awardee
CAST will be selecting its’2012 awardees May 13-18 at Intel ISEF 2012 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Intel ISEF, a program of Society for Science & the Public, is the world’s largest international pre-college science competition and annually provides a forum for more than 1,500 high school students from more than 70 countries, regions, and territories to showcase their independent research.
