RCSU Science Challenge

The RCSU Science Challenge is an annual competition run by the Royal College of Science Faculty Union at Imperial College London. The challenge is an essay competition that aims to encourage scientific debate, reasoning and the communication of science in a public-friendly context. Entries in this two-category competition are open to all students of Imperial College (not Faculty specific) and (in a separately judged category) students at secondary-school or colleges in the United Kingdom.
The Science Challenge 2012
The 2012 competition will be launched in January. The judges for this year's competition have been confirmed as Professor the Lord Robert Winston, BBC Science Correspondent Pallab Ghosh, The Wellcome Trust Director Mark Henderson and Accenture's Peter Lacy.
The Launch
An address will be given by Professor Lord Robert Winston and will mark the opening of The Science Challenge 2012. Lord Winston is Professor of Science & Society, and Emeritus Professor of Fertility Studies at Imperial College. Following Lord Winston will be a presentation by each of our Judges as they introduce their questions for this year. The event will be held at Imperial College London's South Kensington campus in mid-January and is an invitation only event. The Launch will be recorded and will be available online shortly after the event.
The Final
The Final is the closing part of The Science Challenge. The venue of the Final for this year's competition is the House Of Lords. All Finalists are invited to attend the Final free of charge, and they will be joined by our Judges, high-ranking University academics, Royal College of Science Alumni, competitors, parents and students of the College. At the Final the announcement of the Winners for this competition will be made.
Prizes
The Prizes are announced at the Launch of a Challenge. Included in the Challenge will be a free invitation to the Final for the top three entries in each category for both Imperial College student entries and school and college entries.
The Science Challenge 2011
The winning entrants for the Science Challenge 2011 competition are listed below, including their prize money.
Imperial Students
Overall winner: Andrew Purcell (Physics) - £2,000
Runner up: Sarah Byrne (Maths) - £1,000
Biology Prize: Christopher Richardson - £250
Chemistry Prize: Erica Thompson - £250
Maths Prize: Alexander Karapetian - £250
Physics Prize: Kelly Oakes - £250
School Students
Overall winner: James Bezer - £500
Two Runners up: Hiba Chaudhry & Joseph Herbert - £250 each
History
The Science Challenge was conceived and founded in 2006. Since then the competition has run yearly, with prizes ranging from bursaries to Imperial, to tours of CERN.
Previous Prizes
Under the direction of Dr Jad Marrouche, then RCSU President, the Science Challenge 2008 had a myriad of prizes, notably a tour of CERN and a slice of a £20,000 prize pot.
Previous Judges
Professor Lord Robert Winston has headed up the Judging team since the Challenge's conception, and has each year been joined by a collection of notable guest judges. Imperial Alumnus and author Simon Singh, Mark Henderson, Science Editor of The Times, the Rector of Imperial College, Sir Keith O'Nions and Head of Faculty of Natural Sciences Professor Margaret Dallman have all judged the Challenge.
Previous Questions
2011 Questions:
* Will Society benefit most by finding the solutions to The Millennium Prize Problems or Hilbert's Problems?
* How will plant-based research help us overcome some of the greatest challenges of the 21st Century?
* What will be the result of rising commodity prices to the field of Chemistry over the next twenty years?
* Why should the average person care whether we discover the Higgs boson?

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