Sharp minds at Tognum

• 26 young researchers receive awards at the “Youth researches / Pupils experiment” regional competition
• Tognum CEO Volker Heuer: “A key factor for our success is recruiting the right kind of young talent.”

Friedrichshafen, February 26, 2011. The Lake Constance region around Friedrichshafen the city of Constance has once again demonstrated that it is the breeding ground for sharps minds. In the 46th regional competition entitled “Youth researches / Pupils experiment” that was held on the premises of the specialist for propulsion and power solutions Tognum in Friedrichshafen, awards were presented to 26 young researchers. The field of Mathematics and Information Science stood out in the “Youth researches“ competition, with entries in this category taking the top three places. Other top places were won in the “Working World” and “Technology” categories. Tognum supports the competition to help young people to become more closely acquainted with science and technology. “For us, sharp young researchers are the basis for our future success,“ said Tognum CEO Volker Heuer, explaining the reasons for the company’s involvement. A total of 62 young people took part in the competition, submitting 34 entries.
A traffic light control system calculates the length of time for the red and green phases based on the traffic volume and is thus able to prevent traffic congestion – the kind of thing car drivers dream of when they have to wait at a red traffic light. Parzival Andreas Borlinghaus, Marvin Gülzow and Jan Christ from Scherzingen, (Switzerland), Constance and Reichenau carried out an in-depth analysis of the problem. The jury rewarded their research efforts in the “Mathematics/Information Science” category with first place in the “Youth researches“ competition. During the prize-giving ceremony at Tognum, the three young researchers, in addition to receiving a certificate, a cash prize and a much coveted ticket to the state competitions in Stuttgart, were also awarded the special prize from the Baden-Württemberg Ministry for the Environment and Transport. There were two more regional winners in the “Mathematics/Information Science” category: Adrian Hoffmann from Friedrichshafen for his “Mobile radio telescope“ and Katharina Börsig from Constance, whose cell phone knows whether anything is missing from her school satchel. In the “Working World“ category, Felicitas Greiner-Perth from Singen was the winner with “Self-cleaning using photocatalysis“. There were two winners in the “Technology“ category: Meike Bertram, Leonie Magnus and Rebecca Grün from Friedrichshafen and Immenstaad, who examined the topic of “Gripping like velcro“ and Arthur Silber from Constance with “Oven control 2.0“. He also received Tognum’s special prize - four days of practical research work at Tognum. Four prizes were awarded to the runners-up in the “Chemistry“, “Mathematics/Information Science“, “Physics“ and “Technology” categories, and a third prize in the “Working World” category, which completes the list of winners in the “Youth Researches” competition.
The young researchers were just as successful and creative in the “Pupils Experiment” section. Anne Voss from Allensbach produced ink from a variety of natural substances. Philipp Zimmermann from Constance built an apparatus to generate thermal images. Lorenz Maurer, Lea Noack and Tim Durner from Langenargen were in search of the perfect Drosophila fruit fly trap. Nils Irmisch and Siran Zhu from Constance won first prize with their experiment entitled “Accelerating steel balls using magnets”, as did Joshua Rutschmann and Elijah Stalla from Constance with “Automated water analysis”. All these schoolchildren will take part in the state competition to be held on April   7 and 8 in Balingen. Six other experiments were awarded second place and four others third place.
Only by taking a second look is it possible to recognize the value to Tognum of events like “Youth Researches”, because this innovative ideas competition is not only important for the future of the young participants, but for industry as a whole. “As a leading technology company, we need young people who are fascinated by the natural sciences and technology. This why we will also be relying on young professionals in the future to ensure that we remain competitive both in Germany and throughout the world,” explained Tognum CEO Volker Heuer.