Durban - Two matric pupils have been chosen to represent South Africa at the International Festival of Engineering Science and Technology in Tunisia from June 24 to 30, 2022.
Kutlwano Tshatiwa, 17, from Gabonewe High School in Bojanala in the North West and Ethan de Wet, 18, from Curro Durbanville in Stellenbosch in the Western Cape were selected after taking part in the Eskom Expo for Young Scientists.
A statement on Monday said the fair will cover research which revolutionises pneumonia and skin cancer diagnosis, along with in-depth research on the physics of sound.
According to the statement, Kutlwano was selected to participate in the festival because of his vast knowledge and experience in machine learning.
It said he is a resourceful, quick pupil and is mostly self-taught, making him a suitable participant for this science fair because of the fast pace and high standards.
- The young scientist used millions of images to test two methods of model training, ie a custom model and a knowledge distillation model.
- He found that knowledge distillation techniques outperformed the custom model in terms of accuracy.
Ethan’s project was selected for international participation because the innovation is an example of how an industry dependent on natural resources can become eco-friendly, said the statement.
- Using 3D printing technology with biodegradable Polylactic acid (PLA), he designed and constructed speaker enclosures that could replace standard wooden ones.
- He conducted in-depth research on the physics of sound such as sound pressure level, distortion, and the audio spectrum.
- This, together with his knowledge of sound engineering, helped him design and 3D print an affordable and efficient speaker enclosure.
- The significance of his study is that the speaker enclosure is eco-friendly, cost effective, and gives the consumers greater flexibility to 3D print such enclosures themselves, using his designs.
Eskom Development Foundation chief executive officer, Cecil Ramonotsi, said the Eskom Expo for Young Scientists is a platform which continues to enable pupils/students not only to develop themselves but to also make a positive contribution to the country through scientific knowledge.
The international festival will be held in Monastir, Tunisia and was organised by the Tunisian Association for the future of Science and Technology.
Registration to take part in the 2022 Eskom Expo is now open.
Pupils in grades 4 to 12, along with students from Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) colleges that are in NC2 to NC4, can register and upload their own research projects by clicking the link: http://bit.ly/3dVnTGH.
To access resources and easy-to-use templates, click here: https://bit.ly/3ctUuik.