A Semiahmoo Secondary student will be representing the country at the world’s largest international pre-college science competition next month.
Grade 10 Nick Johnston has been named to Team Canada-ISEF for the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair, scheduled for Los Angeles, Calif. May 8-13.
Johnston will present his project, Computer-Aided Telepathic Communications, which he built to determine if it is possible to build word and letter combinations and communicate them using brain waves, essentially allowing people to communicate without speaking.
The project was one of 18 science projects across the country selected by Youth Science Canada’s panel of 20 university faculty, industry researchers, educators and Team Canada alumni.
The national selection process – which began in October and ended last week as part of Youth Science Month – evaluated the students’ projects based on scientific excellence and innovation.
Intel ISEF – a Society for Science and the Public program – encourages students to tackle challenging scientific questions using authentic research practices to create solutions to the problems of tomorrow.
Johnston is to compete against 1,600 young scientists from nearly 60 countries for more than $4 million US in scholarships and prizes.
Semiahmoo principal Bea Hadikin described Johnston as a "bright kid," and said she is not surprised he was chosen for the international event.
"Nick is incredibly accomplished but also incredibly modest," Hadikin said, noting Johnston did the project on his own, without the support of a class, group or teacher. "He definitely has a future in science – we're going to probably read about him one day."