Two Gatineau students win top honour at regional science fair

Tashi Farmilo

Two secondary school students from Gatineau have taken the top prize at this year's Expo-Sciences Hydro-Québec regional final for the Outaouais, held March 28 and 29 at the Maison du Citoyen.

Hadrien Pontier-Valois and Émile Croteau, both in Grade 10 at Collège Saint-Alexandre de la Gatineau, were awarded the Premier prix Hydro-Québec for their project VIGIL-FERME. The prize, given to the best project across all categories, comes with a scholarship of $750 for each winner, along with a trophy for each.

Their project addresses the growing problem of antibiotic resistance in agriculture. Antibiotics used on farms can encourage the development and spread of bacteria that no longer respond to treatment. VIGIL-FERME proposes a rapid diagnostic test capable of detecting certain antibiotic resistance genes directly on farms, helping producers make more informed decisions about antibiotic use. The project was developed through iGEM Outaouais, a team of Cégep and secondary students from the region of which Pontier-Valois and Croteau are members.

The pair also received the Technoscience network gold medal, which carries a $500 scholarship to be divided between them.

Along with their individual awards, the two students earned a spot at the Super Expo-sciences Hydro-Québec provincial final, scheduled for April 17 to 19 at the Université Laval's Pavillon Alphonse-Desjardins in Quebec City. They will be part of a regional delegation of 12 students representing 8 winning projects, chosen from the 42 that competed at the regional level. A total of 72 students exhibited at this year's Outaouais final.

The eight projects advancing to the provincial final are:

Biolixiviation, by Ulrich Kroetsch and Alexandre Legault

Vers la théorie du tout: la supersymétrie, by Chloé Beauchamp

VIGIL-FERME, by Hadrien Pontier-Valois and Émile Croteau

Avant l'urgence: SYMP.T.O.M, by Myriam Gratton and Victoria Proulx

Sexualité féminine, by Florence Lapointe

Relativistic Spaceflight Simulator, by Ethan Pei

Récolter l'invisible, by Malik Mantville and Rafael Alexander Gutierrez Ruiz

Au-delà de l'extinction, by Mariam Masoud

The 12 students representing the Outaouais region at the provincial final are Ulrich Kroetsch, Alexandre Legault, Chloé Beauchamp, Hadrien Pontier-Valois, Émile Croteau, Myriam Gratton, Victoria Proulx, Florence Lapointe, Ethan Pei, Malik Mantville, Rafael Alexander Gutierrez Ruiz and Mariam Masoud.

Projects that distinguish themselves at the provincial competition may go on to represent Quebec at the Canada-Wide Science Fair, set for May 23 to 30 in Edmonton, Alberta.