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Orewa College student Jennifer Palmer sees the chance to make a presentation about synthetic biology to scientists, businessmen, politicians and members of the public as an exciting opportunity.
Applying scientific research in a way that could benefit the whole country is something that Orewa College student Jennifer Palmer, aged 17, is passionate about.
Recently she was selected as one of only six college students nationwide to make the finals of Eureka – a prestigious competition with a grand prize of $10,000.
Jennifer’s six-minute presentation at the regional competition, on the relatively new area of research known as synthetic biology, was a winner, seeing her through to the final to be held in Wellington on September 3.
Jennifer is particularly interested in spreading the word about the potential to manipulate DNA to cause organisms such as algae or bacteria to produce biofuels and drugs.
“Basically you can manipulate the genetic code, like a computer code, so that bacteria and algae produce things like biofuels, insulin and anti-malarial drugs in a more sustainable way,” she says.
The Eureka final involves a 12-minute presentation, on the same topic, to be made before a panel of judges. It is a challenge that the Year 12 student is excited about, although she admits the idea of being quizzed in a question and answer session by National Radio’s Kim Hill, who is one of the judges, is a bit daunting.
The competition has been run since 2012 as part of Sir Paul Callaghan’s vision of an economic growth strategy for NZ driven by innovation in science, technology, engineering and maths.
Part of the focus is on communicating your idea in a persuasive way – something Jennifer says that scientists have to do all the time.
“What scientists do isn’t confined to the lab – the object of research is to improve the world, so you need to communicate with the public and potential funders.”
Jennifer’s own ‘Eureka moment’ came last year – she says when she entered the Brain Bee competition, it crystallised her love of science into a plan to study neuroscience at Otago University.
