IHI Sponsors 18th Grand Contest on Chemistry for High School Students
IHI was a special sponsor in the final round of the 18th Grand Contest on Chemistry for High School Students on October 28 and 29.
This annual competition debuted in 2004. The host this year was the Toyosu campus of the Shibaura Institute of Technology, next door to IHI’s headquarters. The contest aims to nurture innovative, globally -minded individuals by increasing their interest in chemistry and science in general.
Third year or later individuals and teams from high schools and technology colleges from around Japan submitted findings from chemistry experiments and research. After reviewing the documentation, the judging panel invited finalists from 10 institutions to deliver presentations on their results, awarding prizes for excellence.
After the opening ceremony on October 28, attendees viewed poster presentations from entrants and business presentations from sponsors. Schools not nominated as finalists showed their findings on posters and explained them to attendees.
Sponsors then spotlighted their businesses at their booths. IHI showed videos and slides of its initiatives to become carbon neutral. These included efforts to commercialize sustainable aviation fuel that relied heavily on advances in chemistry, the development of ammonia combustion technology, and a demonstration of local energy production consumption at the Soma IHI Green Energy Center in Fukushima Prefecture.
The approximately 50 students and teachers visiting IHI’s booth found it very informative. Students asked numerous questions that highlighted their great interest in carbon neutrality and their hopes for contributions thereto from science and technology.
The 10 finalists and representatives of three overseas schools delivered presentations on October 29. As a special sponsor, IHI provided a key award, with its employees serving on the judging panel. After an intensive assessment, the IHI Award went to the Science Club of Jutoku High School in Gunma Prefecture for a presentation titled, How Cabbage Powder Components (β-alanine, Proline, and Glycine) Affects Silkworm Silk.
This team impressed the judges for presenting so well in English, addressing the local sericulture industry’s issues and including engineering perspectives at all stages, from raising silkworms through spinning yarn and measuring the strength of silk. The team’s research proved perfectly in keeping with IHI’s management philosophy of contributing to the development of society through technology and its vision for helping to create economies in which nature and technology are in harmony.
IHI will continue to sponsor the Grand Contest on Chemistry for High School Students to encourage young people to pursue advances in chemistry and science in general.
