Powering a potential for science

Clementine Davis is going to Powering Potential in December. Photo/George Novak

Two Tauranga teens are among 40 of the brightest secondary school science students who have been selected to attend the inaugural event Powering Potential.

Mount Maunganui College student Clementine Davis and Devon Whitmore from Tauranga Boys' College will travel to Wellington in December for the event that will seek answers to some of New Zealand's future problems.

Organised by the Royal Society of New Zealand and supported by Freemasons New Zealand, the event will bring New Zealand's most promising science students together to work out how to solve challenging issues facing the country.

They will be supported and guided by scientists and mentors.

The students will work in teams of three to five on problems that have been submitted by science organisations.

They relate to a wide range of areas critical to New Zealand's future, from the environment to health.

The students will research, investigate and collaborate to solve problems. "The students will need to think outside the square and use their creative capabilities to find solutions.

At the end of the four days each team will present its findings at a special function," says Royal Society of New Zealand chief executive Andrew Cleland.

Each student submitted an in-depth application focused on their own science research or outlining how they have contributed to an area of science in their school or community.

The students were selected because they are serious about going on to study science at a tertiary level and also have a passion and thirst for the world of science.