This is amazing: Jan Konwerski and Lisa Schreier, 11th-grade students in the plus-MINT program at Steinmühle Boarding School, won second place in the School Lab competition hosted by the German Aerospace Center (DLR) with their heat pump model.
“We are very pleased with this tremendous success,” said project supervisor Dr. Jutta Töhl-Borsdorf—who also serves as the STEM coordinator at Steinmühle School and Boarding School—along with Managing Director Dirk Konnertz and Principal Björn Gemmer.
Everyone is talking about heat pumps, and the technology itself is already in use in many buildings. In terms of market share, heat pumps account for about 6 percent of all homes in Germany. Although many sophisticated devices are available on the market, innovative approaches from young researchers remain crucial in light of these figures. This is the only way to further develop this field, underscore the importance of the technology, and carry the topic forward into the future.
The Task: Building Mechanical or Virtual Models
The 2026 DLR School Lab Award was a student competition on the topic of climate-neutral heat pumps.
The topic was “Reducing CO2 Emissions with Heat Pumps.”
The students’ assignment was to explain how a heat pump based on the Brayton cycle works and to build a model of it.
Teams from grades 6 through 12 accomplished this by designing mechanical or virtual models.
On behalf of the DLR, Dr. Thomas Fester from the project management team invited the two young researchers from Steinmühle to the DLR in Zittau for the award ceremony. From there, they returned home with many new experiences, a wealth of information, and prize money totaling 700 euros.
With its performance in this prestigious competition, Steinmühle—which offers a range of athletic programs, including rowing and equestrian sports—has further solidified its reputation as a plus-MINT boarding school.
(Angela Heinemann)
Steinmühle took second place in the competition held by the German Aerospace Center
Contests & Awards, News, STEM, Talent DevelopmentThis is amazing: Jan Konwerski and Lisa Schreier, 11th-grade students in the plus-MINT program at Steinmühle Boarding School, won second place in the School Lab competition hosted by the German Aerospace Center (DLR) with their heat pump model.
“We are very pleased with this tremendous success,” said project supervisor Dr. Jutta Töhl-Borsdorf—who also serves as the STEM coordinator at Steinmühle School and Boarding School—along with Managing Director Dirk Konnertz and Principal Björn Gemmer.
Everyone is talking about heat pumps, and the technology itself is already in use in many buildings. In terms of market share, heat pumps account for about 6 percent of all homes in Germany. Although many sophisticated devices are available on the market, innovative approaches from young researchers remain crucial in light of these figures. This is the only way to further develop this field, underscore the importance of the technology, and carry the topic forward into the future.
The Task: Building Mechanical or Virtual Models
The 2026 DLR School Lab Award was a student competition on the topic of climate-neutral heat pumps.
On behalf of the DLR, Dr. Thomas Fester from the project management team invited the two young researchers from Steinmühle to the DLR in Zittau for the award ceremony. From there, they returned home with many new experiences, a wealth of information, and prize money totaling 700 euros.
With its performance in this prestigious competition, Steinmühle—which offers a range of athletic programs, including rowing and equestrian sports—has further solidified its reputation as a plus-MINT boarding school.
(Angela Heinemann)