THE EUROPEAN Commission has named Martin Tkáč the best young scientist in the European Union.
Tkáč, who studies at the Secondary Technical School of Transport in Košice, was awarded the title Best Young Scientist under 20 for a project that explored using gravity to tilt bulk materials in cargo railway transport. He presented the commission with a self-made, functional model of a new type of railway carriage, the Sme daily wrote.
As well as the award, Tkáč received €7,000 in prize money and a spot at the International Scientific Forum of Youth in London.
The finals of the 20th annual EU competition for young scientists took place in Copenhagen between September 19 and 26.
Young researchers aged 14 to 21 from 39 European countries competed with 87 projects from a wide spectrum of scientific fields, including mathematics, biology, chemistry, and technical disciplines. Projects were evaluated by an international jury of 15 experts.
As well as Tkáč, Slovakia’s participants included two others winners of national competitions, who presented projects that monitored the frequency of cancer in the Small Carpathians and examined the use of plastic waste in the wood-processing industry.
