Austin Wang, a grade 11 student at Vancouver’s David Thompson Secondary School, has won a prestigious international science award for his research project at the International BioGENEius Challenge, beating 28 finalists from across the US, Canada and Germany. International BioGENEius Challenge is the premier international competition for high school students that recognizes outstanding innovation in biotechnology.
Austin’s project, Identifying Genes with Roles in Power Output of Exoelectrogenic Bacteria in Microbial Fuel Cells, seeks to identify genes that help bacteria improve their ability to generate electricity in Microbial Fuel Cells (MFCs). Its results may eventually contribute to the commercialization of MFC technology.
Austin was awarded the Global Environment Challenge (industrial & environmental biotech) prize at the annual International BioGENEius Challenge final in Philadelphia on June 16, 2015. The award comes with a cash prize of $7,500 USD.
