Stars and STEM Stories
Largest Research Competition Takes Place During 2021/2022 GLOBE Contest and Student Conference in Switzerland
Thomas Zurbuchen, Associate Administrator of NASA’s Science Mission Directorate, during his presentation at the GLOBE Contest (Photo Credit: Manu Friederich/GLOBE Switzerland)
On 24 June 2022, the grand finale of the GLOBE Contest took place during the Student Conference in Bern, Switzerland. Over 300 groups of students submitted their own work in the areas of biodiversity, climate change, soil, and water quality. Sixty-two groups, with over 170 students and their teachers, were invited to the national conference and were able to present their results. The conference took place at the University of Bern, and was organized like a real scientific conference, with keynote speakers, sessions, and poster presentations.
Thomas Zurbuchen, Associate Administrator of NASA’s Science Mission Directorate, was the keynote speaker. In addition to sharing scientific facts, he also shared personal stories with the enthusiastic audience. During the event, Nina Buchmann (ETH Zurich Eidgenössische Teschnische Hochschule Zürich/Swiss Federal Institute of Technology) and Samuel Nussbaumer (University of Zurich) gave exciting insights into their research areas.
The Winners: Primary Level
Acquarossa students during the poster session (Photo Credit: Manu Friederich/GLOBE Switzerland)
- 1st Place: 5th grade; Acquarossa Primary School, with their work on the occurrence and distribution of neophytes on a plant nature trail they created
- 2nd Place: 6th grade; Dreirosen Primary School Basel, with their work comparing the diversity of earthworms in a shady and sunny meadow
- 3rd Place: Raúl Burri, Niklas Durrer and Jan Lüthold, 5th and 6th grades; Alpnach School, with their work on the differences in leaf fall and leaf discoloration in hazel, maple, and common beech
The Winners: Lower Secondary Level
Mathis von Arb and Maria Sharma during the award ceremony (Photo Credit: Manu Friederich/GLOBE Switzerland)
- 1st Place: Mathis von Arb and Maria Sharma; Kantonsschule Olten (Olten High School), with their research work on the influence of temperature and nitrate on the mating behavior of freshwater shrimp
- 2nd Place: Linda Laube, Kaja Konrad and Gioele D'Angelo; Schänis School, with their comparison of the water quality of the Hofbach in two places
- 3rd Place: Alaïa Boivin, Eléa Gamba and Vickie Wittwer; Ecole Secondaire de Courrendlin (Courrendlin High School), with their work comparing the water quality of the Birs in autumn and spring
The Winners: Upper Secondary Level
Elioné Delon explaining the poster of his group during the poster session (Photo Credit: Manu Friederich/GLOBE Switzerland)
- 1st Place: William Jaggy, Mathieu Sabatier, Elinoé Delon, Thomas Grossrieder, and Florian Verstappen; Collège St-Michel Fribourg, with their investigation into the effect of urban heat islands in the Collège St-Michel and the agglomeration of Fribourg
- 2nd Place: Arthur Almonte, Clémence Kaempf, and Patricia Carneiro; vocational baccalaureate class at the Center Professionnel du Nord Vaudois, with their work on the influence of permaculture on soil properties
- 3rd Place: James Curran, Malte Mickisch and Philip Kündig; Leonhard Gymnasium Basel, with their investigation of whether and how different soils on a farm influence the occurrence of earthworms
To view the original article (in German), click here.
Thanks to the great support of the Oeschger Center for Climate Research at the University of Bern and to the patronage of the U.S. Embassy, the Student Conference, which took place as part of the GLOBE Contest, was a complete success.