230 Canadian students share $1.3 million in scholarships and awards at 2024 Canada-Wide Science Fair in Ottawa

OTTAWA, Ontario — Being inquisitive pays off. That’s the main message coming out of the 2024 Canada-Wide Science Fair held in Ottawa this week, Canada’s largest annual youth STEM event. This evening, close to 900 people attended the awards ceremony where a total of $1.3 million in awards, prizes and scholarships was presented to 230 students from coast to coast. The event’s Best Project Award in Discovery went to Ann Wang from Vancouver for her project, “Eradicating Cystic Fibrosis Biofilms by a Novel Non-Toxic, Multi-Pathway Salicylate Therapy”, while Best Project in Innovation went to Angela Cao, also from Vancouver, for her project “S2S: AI-Powered Translation Between Sign and Spoken Languages”.

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“Congratulations to every finalist who shared their discoveries and innovations this week. Every student who engages their curiosity and develops a project should be celebrated,” said Reni Barlow, executive director at Youth Science Canada, organizers of the event. “The awards and scholarships recognize those who dare to ask tough questions and tackle challenging problems. These top winners continue to inspire and underscore the potential for youth to develop innovative solutions for future challenges – this is the why behind what we do.”

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Top winners, selected by over 250 judges, include:

Best Project Awards
Best Project: Discovery
Ann Wang from Greater Vancouver, British Columbia, for Eradicating Cystic Fibrosis Biofilms by a Novel Non-Toxic, Multi-Pathway Salicylate Therapy.
Link to project

Best Project: Innovation
Angela Cao from Greater Vancouver, British Columbia, for S2S: AI-Powered Translation Between Sign and Spoken Languages.
Link to project

Platinum Awards – Discovery
Best Junior (grade 7/8)
Sarah Bykewich from Edmonton, Alberta, for Electroculture.
Link to project

Best Intermediate (grade 9/10)
Tanvir Mundra from Greater Vancouver, British Columbia, for Reviving Resources: Harnessing Soap Nut Greywater for Sustainable Plant Growth.
Link to project

Platinum Awards – Innovation
Best Junior (grade 7/8)
Evan Budz from Bay Area, Ontario, for Virtual Lifeguard: A Novel AI Approach to Drowning Prevention.
Link to project

Best Intermediate (grade 9/10)
Kathy Han from Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, for Designing Biomimetic Nanovesicles for Cancer Treatment.
Link to project

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The 2024 Canada-Wide Science Fair in Ottawa featured 385 student finalists, from grades 7 through 12, showcasing 342 projects, drawing over 7,000 visitors and more than 12,000 online viewers. The Canada-Wide Science Fair and STEM Expo continue in person at Carleton University tomorrow, Friday, May 31, until 2:30 p.m. EDT, with projects remaining online for public viewing afterward.

The 63rd edition of the Canada-Wide Science Fair will be held in Fredericton at the University of New Brunswick from June 1 to 6, 2025.

The public is invited to meet the best project and platinum award winners on Friday, May 31, at 9:30 a.m. EDT in the Athletics building at Carleton University. The panel discussion will also be broadcast live at
https://link.youthscience.ca/CWSF24-Meet-Winners.
Media members are encouraged to participate.

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Winners will be available for media interviews throughout the week of June 3, 2024, by contacting Dalia Esposito at dalia@torchiacom.com.

Photos and videos from the Canada-Wide Science Fair are available here: CWSF 2024 photos and video. The complete list of Canada-Wide Science Fair award recipients is available at cwsf.youthscience.ca.

About Youth Science Canada

Youth Science Canada empowers all Canadian youth to engage their curiosity in discovering and innovating through STEM projects. A registered charity incorporated in 1966, YSC delivers on its mission through national programs, including mySTEMspace, the National STEM Fair Network, Canada-Wide Science Fair, STEM Expo, Team Canada representation at international fairs and Smarter Science professional development for teachers. Through these programs, YSC directly supports the more than 500,000 students who do STEM projects in any given year. For more information, visit youthscience.ca.