LIMERICK student Conor Foy will wing his way to Los Angeles in May to represent Ireland at the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair.
The fifth year student at Coláiste Chiaráin in Croom, won an Excellence in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) award last November at SciFest@SFI Discover competition in Trinity College.
The 17-year-old from Crecora took the award for his device that improves timing for rowing crews and was also awarded the Yale medallion for most outstanding project at the competition.
Conor developed a system that can measure, display, transmit and record the timing difference between, and the force exerted by a crew of rowers. The system is unique in that it looks at the timing of the oar and the force of each individual stroke, and not just the movement of the seat.
Conor was recently invited to the Intel facility in Leixlip where the in-house engineers were so impressed with the quality of his project that he will now also compete at Intel ISEF 2014. He will travel to Los Angeles, with his teacher Edel Farrell, courtesy of Intel Ireland.
Seven million students from all around the world competed in science fairs like SciFest last year for the opportunity to participate in Intel ISEF. In all, over 1,500 students will compete in the event this May for a top prize of $75,000.
