Swansea’s National Waterfront Museum hosted the Swansea heat in partnership with Oriel Science Café, where the audience was treated to a range of STEM topics, from solar cells to volcanos.

STOP PRESS: The winner of the Regional Final was Laura O'Day who will now go through to the UK National Final at London’s Science Museum on 25 April.

With 12 remarkable applicants, the competition was fierce. Contestants had just three minutes to impress, and after great deliberation, the judges– Tim Rutter, Head of Communications at Tata Steel Strip Products UK, Dr Tim Cockerill, zoologist and circus performer, and Dr Ruth Callaway, SEACAMS Research Officer at Swansea University–announced the winners:

• Tom Savage – PhD Physics – Tom talked about the formation of the universe, matter and anti-matter, and why we technically shouldn’t even be here!

• Elizabeth Evans – PhD Engineering/Geography – Elizabeth did the famous Mentos and Coke demonstration, and talked about how it links to what goes on inside a volcano.

• Carla Carisi – PhD Medicine – Carla talked about the effect of calorie restriction on the health and longevity of monkeys.

• Mark White – PhD Sports Science – Mark talked about how immediate, specific visual feedback on technique can improve runners’ performance and reduce injuries.

• Laura O’Dea – PhD Nanotechnology – Laura talked about how we can test the properties of blood to see how likely someone is to suffer from clotting-related diseases (e.g. stroke), and to determine the potential effects of new drugs on blood clotting.

• Alexander Riches – EngD Engineering – Alex talked about the inner workings of a solar cell (which make up solar panels) – i.e. what actually happens when light hits them in order to generate electric current.

The six contestants, all of which are postgraduate students at Swansea University, will now go on to the regional final, which will once again take place in the National Waterfront Museum on Wednesday 28th February 2018.

The regional finalist will then participate in a mandatory Masterclass, as well as the UK National Final at London’s Science Museum (25 April 2018).

National winners of all 25+ participating countries will then meet at Cheltenham Science Festival (5 – 10 June 2018) to battle it out in front of a live audience for the title of FameLab International Champion 2018!

All are welcome to come along and watch the Wales regional final, to witness challengers from the Swansea and Cardiff heats give the performance of their lives.

STOP PRESS: The winner of the Regional Final was Laura O'Day who will now go through to the UK National Final at London’s Science Museum on 25 April.

For more details, contact Rhian Melita Morris (College of Science) or Sharon Bishop (College of Engineering).