The following files contain information about this year’s Steinmühle Sports Project Days:

Letter to Parents and Students: Dial-In 2018

Project Description 2018 (all)

Overview of SpoPro 2018 Projects

The 25th Inventors’ Lab, organized by the “Center for Chemistry” (ZFC) association based in Lorsch, South Hesse, held its finals at the Darmstadt-based chemical and pharmaceutical company Merck. Among the approximately 200 applicants from all over Hesse, a total of 16 highly gifted students from 16 schools made it to the finals, including Sam Tadjiky, a 12th-grade student at Steinmühlen High School.

In front of an audience of about 170 prominent figures from the business community, schools, universities, and government ministries, the student teams concluded the event by presenting their research ideas and proposed solutions under the overarching theme of “Organic Electronics.” The organizer honored the “stars of tomorrow” as “Hesse’s next generation of business leaders on the cusp of the future.”

Chemistry teacher Dr. Jutta Töhl-Borsdorf eagerly awaited the presentation by Sam Tadjiky, who is currently taking his Abitur exams. She had supported him with his application. Constanze Oestreicher-Gold, head of Subject Area III (Science and Mathematics), and Principal Björn Gemmer were also thrilled. Sam’s tutor, Elke Karasek (advanced math course), had even traveled to Darmstadt to follow everything up close. A week-long workshop culminated that day in a vivid presentation of the solutions to the problems that the young researchers had developed as part of the Inventors’ Lab.

Sam Tadjiky and his three team members focused on the production of organic semiconductors for use, among other things, as photovoltaic cells. Conventional cells are made of silicon—an efficient but expensive way to generate electricity. As an alternative, the team synthesized their own polymers, which actually worked as long as they ensured purity and took great care during the manufacturing process. The ingress of oxygen destabilizes the polymer chains—making it a labor-intensive process that, under ideal conditions, however, works and delivers the desired results. Research on this topic is still ongoing.

Sam, who is taking advanced courses in math and physics, said he was “not nervous during the presentation—more relaxed.” In any case, he had fun. He sees his application to the Inventors’ Lab as a step on the path to finding his career. He’s really into the STEM subjects—math, computer science, natural sciences, and technology. But he doesn’t plan to make the competition’s subject matter his career: “We’ll see. Computer science, maybe.”

About the Contest

The 25th Inventors’ Lab took place at Merck and at the Technical University of Darmstadt, Department of Chemistry (Prof. Matthias Rehahn). In addition, the event was supported by, among others, the Hessian Ministry of Education and Cultural Affairs, the Hessian Ministry of Economics, Energy, Transportation, and Regional Development, and the German Federal Environmental Foundation (DBU). The Inventors’ Lab is part of the “School 3.0 – Energy Transition in the Classroom” initiative.

In previous years, Steinmühlen students Jan-Eric Wichmann, Lisa Kemena, and Philipp Kreiter had already qualified to participate in the Inventors’ Lab.

Steinmühle celebrated International Book Day on April 23 with a week of events: From Monday through Friday, the student library located in the Forum presented an exhibition featuring books that have won various literary awards in recent years. The exhibition focused on both nonfiction and fiction. “This brings the works more into the spotlight and encourages students to borrow them,” notes Martina Schäfer.

For many years, this certified librarian has been working with heart and soul at a place where students can borrow nonfiction books for free “…on any topic they need for school.” But that’s not all. Fiction covering 30 different themes is also available. The student library sees a steady stream of visitors, as you can easily see during a visit. Reading hardcover books on paper is obviously still “cool”—even at the end of the second decade of the 21st century!

Encouraged to Swap Books

In addition to tables and seating for reading and studying, the school library also offers six computer stations. “Of course, we need Google and the like,” says Martina Schäfer, who, by her own account, has read almost all the books in the library herself. She expertly teaches students how to use the index, advises them on works relevant to exams and the Abitur, and even gives the occasional teacher important tips. The faculty lends a hand from time to time when it comes to sorting and organizing the collection. This ensures that visitors can easily find their way around at all times.

For Book Day—which turned into “Book Week” at Steinmühle—students and faculty were also able to get involved. Under the theme “Book Swap,” everyone was invited to bring books they no longer read from home and exchange them with one another. A contest and a call for students to describe what reading means to them rounded out the program. Graphic novels, which were also part of the book exhibition, offered a special kind of reading material—an alternative way of telling stories.

Steinmühle operates a total of three libraries. In addition to the student library, there is the teachers’ library in the school’s main building and the textbook library in the boarding school office building.