A team of three students from Port Moresby International School in Papua New Guinea have been awarded the Best in Region award for their research into the sound-proofing capabilities of recycled materials.
Nagarjun Sureshbabu, Nile Usman and Abednego Pup posed themselves the question: What is the most effective recyclable material for creating sound-proofing to be used in homes and other buildings?
Influenced by the ever-growing population of Papua New Guinea and the noise pollution in built-up areas that this creates, the team were unhappy with current sound-proofing materials because of their inability to biodegrade.
The team set up an experiment to measure the amount of sound that passed through four materials: glass, paper, cardboard and recycled plastics.
Speaking about their experiences of the competition, team member Nile Usman said: ‘Working on this project alongside my best friends for the last couple of months has been an incredible and knowledgeable journey. It has taught me to work as a team collaboratively and effectively. I am immensely grateful to have been given this opportunity and this has inspired me to contribute more ideas like these to make the world a better place – one step at a time.’
The judges chose the project for its comprehensive planning, clear evaluation and link to real-world issues: ‘This brief dissertation describes a well-conceived and controlled premise driven by a local problem but with a clear world link. This is a comprehensively planned experiment with a clear hypothesis and data containing multiple replicates, which lend themselves to quantitative analysis which is nicely presented.’