Angelina-Arora

[Music plays and photographs flash through of young students]

[An Australian map and text appears: BHP Billiton Foundation Science and Engineering Awards 2018]

[Image changes to show a profile view of Angelina Arora and then the image changes to show fingers playing a piano and then the image changes to show Angelina looking down]

[Image changes to show Angelina smiling at the camera]

Angelina Arora: Hi, my name’s Angelina Arora and I’m in Year 10 at Sydney Girls High School.

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My project’s is called “From Shrimps to Body“.

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My project is split into three sections. Firstly, is the microplastics whether they’re entering the human food chain through fish and the toxins are leaching out causing endocrine disorders.

[Image changes to show fingers typing on a laptop and then the image changes to show Angelina talking to the camera]

The second part was adapted from last year’s experiment where I tested three different types of starches and their possibility for commercial use on the desired properties that conventional plastics contain.

[Image changes to show a view of Angelina smiling at the camera and then holding up a piece of plastic in front of her face]

And the third part was the main part where I went to see if we can make a bioplastic suitable for commercial use out of waste products.

[Image changes to show Angelina holding up a piece of the plastic and then the image changes to show Angelina looking at the plastic]

So, I used an extract from corn shells, kyton and mixed it with an extract from silk.

[Image changes to show Angelina talking to the camera]

So that the kyton, because we dispose of a lot of seafood waste, it was incredibly beneficial for the environment and I was eventually able to create a plastic that was suitable for commercial use.

[Image changes to show Angelina sitting at a desk working on a laptop and then the camera zooms in on Angelina working on the laptop]

I was at a department store and she was asking me to pay for a plastic bag, so I asked her, “Why do we need to do this?”.

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And she said, “It’s to save the environment, to discourage people from using plastic”. So that made me think of whether there’s a way that humans can have their convenience and use plastic and also not harm the environment. So, that’s why I wanted to create bioplastics.

[Images move through of photographs of Angelina, some of her awards and Angelina talking to the camera]

From childhood I was always a very curious child, like, how does this work, why do we do this? And I think that’s really grown into my love for science and that curiosity I can take and investigate into different problems that in the real world, that people face.

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I was also interested in nature and wildlife.

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I used to live near the country.

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I had my own farm with my animals, my chickens, my bunny and I’ve always been really engaged with animals.

[Image changes to show Angelina working on the laptop and then the camera zooms in on Angelina’s face and then the laptop screen she is looking at]

So, it was amazing after all those months and months of research that I finally created a plastic that was suitable. I really hoped that I would and that was what I envisioned, and I eventually got there.

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I love science so much. I believe that it’s the key to all the mysteries in the world.

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I can definitely see science and engineering as part of the future. I couldn’t imagine myself doing anything else.

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In the future, I’d like to go into medicine, but I believe it’s all about helping people and whether it be the environment, humanity, animals, anything and that’s what counts in the end.

[Image changes to show Angelina’s awards and certificates on a wall and the camera pans along the wall]

So, I was super ecstatic about becoming a finalist in the BHP Billiton Awards again for a second time.

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The first time alone was amazing experience where I believe it was not about the competition but about learning and I grew from that experience so just to be able to have it again a second time. It was, that, those few days, were the best few days of my life, I’d say. So, just to do it again, I just feel so happy.

[Music plays and an Australian map and text appears: BHP Billiton Foundation, Science and Engineering Awards, 2018]