This is the best “Jugend Forscht” result in Steinmühle’s history: After Steinmühle student Akaash Bhagwat won the state championship in physics at “Schüler experimentieren” (the competition for younger students), the 12th-grade plus-MINT trio—consisting of Luis Gerloni, Fabian Sotonica, and Clara Steiner, also emerged as state champions at the “Jugend forscht” state competition held at Merck in Darmstadt. Originally submitted in the Earth and Space Sciences category, the project ultimately won the award for “Best Interdisciplinary Project” and will now compete in the national competition. “We’ve been participating in ‘Jugend forscht’ for seven years and have always done very well. But we’ve never had a success like this before,” explains their advisor, Dr. Jutta Töhl-Borsdorf.

Luis (16), Clara, and Fabian (both 17) were quite nervous as they had to hold their own among about 50 other projects and ultimately compete against three others in their category. For about half an hour, the jury members—representing research, academia, and industry—asked their questions—and they were on the same level. Under the title “Water Analysis 2.0: Autonomous Low-Cost Boat for Determining Water Quality,” the trio presented their research project. The discussion delved deeply into the subject matter—not a trace of easy questions whose answers would have been obvious. Relieved and almost in disbelief, the students—who participate in the plus-MINT program at the Steinmühle boarding school—heard that they had won—the reward for hours of dedicated tinkering, extensive expertise, endless perseverance, and tremendous interest.

Another criterion: public benefit

The next round—the national competition in Heilbronn—will feature the best German research projects. The young researchers explain in an interview that they’ll have to step it up a notch there. “There are only a few projects in our category, Earth and Space Sciences,” the three acknowledge. But that makes their efforts all the more closely scrutinized by the jury members.

The questions asked there will also focus on other aspects. The jury will assess whether the project is truly the participants’ own—that is, whether they identify with the project’s goals and demonstrate genuine commitment. According to the trio, the project’s benefit to the community is also important. They can wholeheartedly affirm this—because their greatest hope is that their experiment will become a mass-market product for measuring water quality!

The Goal: To Inspire the Industry

A small “surfboard” serves as the basis for the remote-controlled, motorized platform for water analysis developed by Clara Steiner, Fabian Sotonica, and Luis Gerloni. It is not stationary—which sets it apart from many measurement systems. The “boat” can be equipped with various sensors for water analysis, and it can collect up to four water samples.

Inspiring industry and businesses with their idea is therefore the goal of the three plus-MINT talents, who—along with the Steinmühle School and Boarding School—have made it to the top ranks of Germany’s best young researchers. Their vision is a fully autonomous boat capable of navigating currents and saltwater that can be used by anyone, even private individuals, in any location. This would allow water measurements to be taken at a wide variety of locations across the country and transmitted online for analysis. “The result would be a nearly complete picture of the condition of our waterways.”

At the end of May, Luis, Clara, and Fabian will head to Heilbronn for the national “Jugend Forscht” competition. Joining them will be Dr. Jutta Töhl-Borsdorf, a multiple recipient of the Mentor Award. Alongside her are others who have supported the plus-MINT trio on their journey to the top. These include Antje Seel and Dr. Patrick Szabo from the Steinmühlen STEM team. The collaboration with Dr. Christoph Reudenbach from the Department of Geography at Philipps University of Marburg also provided valuable insights and support.