For the fourth consecutive year, the Intel Bibliotheca Alexandrina Science and Engineering Fair (Intel BASEF) teams won two of the top places in the 2016 International Science and Engineering Fair (Intel ISEF), which was held from 8 to 13 May 2016 in Phoenix, Arizona, USA.

The Egyptian teams’ victory is indeed a great achievement, as they competed against 1,750 students from around the world in the biggest Science and Engineering Fair for pre-university, 14–18 year old students.

The Egyptian team that participated in Intel ISEF comprised 17 students from all over Egypt. Their participation was organized by the BA Planetarium Science Center (PSC), in collaboration with Intel Egypt and the Ministry of Education, and was sponsored by the Academy of Scientific Research and Technology (ASRT) and the U.S. Consulate General.

Winning students from Egypt include Maria Hany Naguib and Samah Ayman, who won fourth place in the Earth and Environmental Sciences category for their project “Superconductive Hybrid Desalination”. The idea for the project stemmed from the issue of the scarcity of water resources, which is one of the most pressing challenges in Egypt. Accordingly, the “Superconductive Hybrid Desalination” project aims to overcome these challenges through using nano magnetite. The project’s results, after conducting several experiments, were astounding, and its total cost is quite low, further proving the project’s exceptional success.
 

Both students were qualified through winning in the Intel BASEF finals in Alexandria (Alex Fair), as the BA had organized its regional fair, which is affiliated with the international fair, for the eighth consecutive year from 16 to 18 March 2016. The teams competed by presenting their winning scientific projects at the exhibitions of different governorates and the educational districts that are geographically affiliated with Intel BASEF—the regional representative of Intel ISEF in the USA. This exhibition is the final phase of competition for young inventors and thinkers, as the Intel BASEF winners become thus qualified to represent Egypt in Intel ISEF in the USA.

Two other winning Egyptian students are Haya Ahmed Mohamed and Madouna Atef, who won fourth place in the Environmental Engineering category for their project “Desalination by Pervaporation System”. The idea for the desalination of seawater arose from the fact that water is the most essential element in sustaining life that has vital and economic roles, and that the crisis of freshwater has become one of the biggest challenges that Egypt and other countries face nowadays. Accordingly, an innovative, low-cost project that is easy to manufacture, is of high efficiency, has a high flow rate, is mechanically and thermally stable, safe, and operates using a simple scientific method (pervaporation) came to light. The project can thus become a reliable solution for our community.

Haya Ahmed Mohamed and Madouna Atef also received special awards for the same project, and they were qualified to participate in the international fair through winning in the Intel BASEF finals in Cairo (Cairo Fair).

It is worth mentioning that the fruitful cooperation between the BA PSC, Intel Egypt, and the Ministry of Education has resulted in the geographical expansion of Intel BASEF, as it now covers all governorates in Egypt.

The 2016 Intel BASEF aims to help 12–18 year old youths develop 21st century skills through focusing on knowledge and research, innovation, critical thinking, problem solving, and teamwork. This is considered to be the cornerstone for the Egyptian knowledge society of scientists and researchers. The students’ projects are assessed by university professors, specialized scientists and engineers, as well as professional volunteers. Grand prizes are determined by using a scale of a hundred points, where points are awarded for innovative abilities, scientific thinking, engineering goals, precision, skills, and clarity. The committee of judges follows the necessary international standards in assessing the students’ projects.

The 10 qualified projects from Intel BASEF participated in Intel ISEF, which was held in Phoenix, Arizona, USA, from 8 to 13 May 2016. The 17 Egyptian students competed honorably in the international fair, and they won several awards and acquired the international recognition of scientists from all over the world, including Nobel laureates in various fields of science.

Intel ISEF, and its international competition, is the biggest science fair for pre-university students. It offers over 1,750 student worldwide the opportunity to gather and share their ideas and present advanced scientific projects. It also provides them with the opportunity to compete for the chance to win educational grants and scholarships and scientific trips that are worth millions of dollars, as well as the opportunity to meet scientists from all over the world, including Nobel laureates in various fields of science.

The BA prepares and trains the winning teams in order to guarantee that they will attain international rankings. This is achieved through providing individual and research skills development programs; having eminent professors from Egyptian universities, and specialized institutions that care about young inventors and researchers, to practically and linguistically review the scientific projects; as well as providing the winning projects with financial and technical support, thus preparing them to win in the international competition.

Intel ISEF is considered the biggest international science competition for pre-university students. Participating students presented projects that covered several topics in various scientific fields, such as zoology, behavioral and social sciences, biochemistry, microbiology, Earth and planetary science, mechanical and electric engineering, environmental management, medicine and health science, physics, mathematics, astronomy, and botany. The contestants compete in the international fair for a chance to win educational grants and scholarships and scientific trips that are worth millions of dollars, as well as for the opportunity to meet scientists from all over the world, including Nobel laureates in various fields of science.

Intel BASEF includes all of Egypt’s governorates, and the Alex Fair was the third and last final exhibition in this year’s event. Four winners were announced from the Cairo Fair, which included projects from all over Greater Cairo, and two other winners were announced from the Luxor Fair, which included projects from Upper Egypt and the Red sea Governorate. Consequently, the total of winners from across Egypt amounted to 10 projects.

The BA administration and management would like to sincerely thank the students and their parents; its partners of success, which are Intel Egypt, the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Youth and Sports, and the Academy of Scientific Research and Technology (ASRT); as well as the fair’s sponsors, namely the US Consulate General in Alexandria and the US Agency for International Development (USAID).