Science Competition winners in East Asia

Three students from Nanjing Hankai Academy in China won the Best in Region award for their investigation into whether hydroponics or aeroponics work better for growing crops in places where soil isn’t fertile.

Team members, Yang Sunni, Zhu Chengxuan, Ding Yihe designed and built their own aeroponic system, which included a water misting system and Arduino Nano board. The latter monitored and controlled temperature, water and light levels. They also built a hydroponic system and grew spinach, celery, greens, and chives under controlled conditions using both systems. The team measured performance using growth rate, final yield, water and energy use, maintenance time, and survival rate.

Results showed that the aeroponic system consistently produced the fastest growth, highest yields, greatest survival rates, and lowest water consumption, although it required slightly more electrical energy than hydroponics. Overall, the findings demonstrate that aeroponic vertical farming is a highly efficient and sustainable alternative for food production in areas facing poor soil quality and water scarcity.

Reflecting on the competition, the team wrote: 'We’re all pleasantly surprised and delighted feeling that our hard work had truly paid off. After completing our build, we donated two of our prototypes and introduced the system to a family and a local school in Cambodia, focusing on Sustainable Development Goal: Zero Hunger of global food, water, and agriculture topic.'

The judges were impressed with the team’s prototypes, praising the design and build of the systems and considerations to health and safety.

Three students from Yew Wah School of Shanghai Changning in China won the Best in Region award for their investigation into the feasibility of using Cladophora (algae) build-up in water bodies to make paper.

Inspired by their research into the environmental effects of excessive Cladophora in local rivers, Devin Guan, Angel Huang and Andy Bai wanted to investigate whether the large amounts of algae could be used to make sustainable paper. Adapting ancient Chinese papermaking techniques to fashion the Cladophora into sheets, the team tested its tensile strength, flexibility, and water absorption property against traditional Chinese rice paper, tissues, sulphate paper, waterproof cardboard, and sketch paper.

With tweaks to their design throughout the process, the team found that their Cladophora paper had enough tensile strength and flexibility to make it useful for daily needs – such as writing – while also possessing good water absorption, for activities such as cleaning.

The judges were impressed by the team’s analysis and the way it informed the iteration of their paper prototype.

Team member, Devin Guan said: 'The part I enjoyed most about this research was combining classical culture with modern issues. The teachers encouraged us to learn from classical culture and adapt it to modern contexts. Through continuous experimentation, we realised that ancient techniques alone often fail to address contemporary challenges – innovation is key.'