Meeting of the Jugend forscht award winners
The topic of "resource efficiency" is crucial when it comes to making our world fit for the future. The Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Nuclear Safety and Consumer Protection (BMUV) recognises the commitment of young researchers with the special "Resource Conservation and Resource Efficiency" prize at Jugend forscht. The projects can deal with both the careful use of resources and increasing efficiency in the use of natural resources. Together with the BilRess network ("Education for Resource Conservation and Resource Efficiency" network), the Federal Ministry for the Environment has been awarding the special prize at regional and state level since 2021. This year, it was also awarded at national level for the first time. The prize money is €1,500 at federal level, €250 at state level and €75 at regional level.
The 48 winners of the special prize for a project on the topic of "Resource Efficiency" in 2023 and 2024 met for two days in Berlin on 10 and 11 June 2024. At the event organised by the BMUV together with Jugend forscht, selected young scientists will present their award-winning research projects with which they were successful at Jugend forscht.
In the last two rounds of Germany's best-known competition for young researchers at state or national level, the participating young researchers were honoured with the prize sponsored by the Federal Minister for the Environment for their work on the topic of "resource efficiency". Their research projects dealt in a special way with specific issues of resource efficiency or resource conservation and made a clear contribution in this area. The aim of the special prize is to recognise the outstanding achievements of young talents in mathematics, IT, natural sciences and technology (STEM) in the field of resource efficiency. It also aims to encourage them to engage with sustainable, climate-friendly and future-proof technologies and to get them interested in a field of research and work that is in demand worldwide.
At the meeting, the award winners had the opportunity to exchange ideas with engineers from the VDI Centre for Resource Efficiency, gain insights into the use of AI for resource efficiency in companies as part of the Green AI Hub Mittelstand initiative and listen to presentations from two innovative and sustainable Berlin companies and the start-up association. The programme was rounded off with a tour of the BMUV. The highlight for the young people was the meeting with Federal Environment Minister Steffi Lemke on the second day of the participants' meeting.
This year, Katharina Boes and Sina Hombrecher received the special prize for "Resource Conservation and Resource Efficiency" at national level. The young researchers produced "green copper". They used the ore malachite, a copper carbonate, which they crushed and heated in a glass tube with hydrogen flowing through it. At around 300 degrees Celsius, a colour change of the green copper carbonate towards copper red was finally visible. In order to produce compact copper in the subsequent process, they pressed the reduced copper in powder form and then melted it down.
Jugend forscht is Germany's best-known competition for school pupils and young people in the STEM subjects and is aimed at children and young people up to the age of 21. Since 1965, the foundation has made it its mission to discover and specifically promote young talent.
