Transcript source
Minh-Nga-NguyenTranscript
[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 Minh Nga Nguyen squatting on the grass calling a dog to her and then the camera zooms in on Minh Nga patting the dog]
[Image changes to Minh Nga walking towards the camera and smiling at the camera and then the image shows Minh Nga standing next to a pizza oven in the yard and talking to the camera]
Minh Nga Nguyen: Hi, I’m Minh Nga Nguyen. I’m in Year 11 at Sydney Girls High School and my project is called, “Recycling Waste into Biochar”, a sustainable waste water filter and fertilizer for the agricultural industry.
[Image changes to show Minh Nga putting a corn cob into a tin and then putting it into the pizza oven and closing the pizza oven door]
So, in my project I took agricultural waste products such as corn cob and turned them into a biochar material that can both absorb harmful nutrients from waste water and fertilise plants.
[Image changes to show Minh Nga talking to the camera]
Biochar is the charcoal that is produced when you burn plant matter in an environment without air.
[Images move through of biochar particles in a sandwich bag, biochar particles in the palm of a hand, Minh Nga talking to the camera and Minh Nga putting biochar particles onto potted plants]
It has properties that enable it to absorb harmful nutrients from waste water and then also release those nutrients into soil to improve plant growth.
[Image changes to show packets of biochar particles made from different products and then the image changes to show Minh Nga talking to the camera]
First of all, I took agricultural waste products such as corn and I burnt them in the pizza oven.
[Images move through of the biochar particles being poured into a test tube, the biochar particles in a filtration column and the camera pans down the system to a water bottle at the base]
Then I placed the burnt biochar into filtration columns that I used to pass waste water through and during that time the biochar absorbed the harmful nutrients from waste water.
[Images move through of the test tube of biochar particles in the filtration system, Minh Nga talking to the camera and the biochar particles being emptied into potted plants]
I expected biochar, based on its chemical properties, to be able to absorb harmful nutrients but I was quite surprised by how well it improved the plant’s growth that I tried and improved the soil.
[Image changes to show Minh Nga talking to the camera and then looking upwards]
I think in the next ten, 20, 30 years there will be a lot of… more women in science particularly as now there’s lots of programmes encouraging young girls to go into science.
[Camera zooms in on Minh Nga looking upwards and then the image changes to show Minh Nga talking to the camera]
I think I would like to be an environmental engineer and hopefully work on international projects to expand Australia’s scientific aid and expertise worldwide. I was always curious.
[Image changes to show Minh Nga working on a computer]
I always, I was a really big book worm.
[Image changes to show Minh Nga talking to the camera and then the image changes to show Minh Nga taking some cookies from the oven, icing them and putting them on the kitchen table]
I would always have my head stuck in a book somewhere or I also really liked baking and cooking and just getting my hands dirty in the kitchen.
[Image changes to show Minh Nga talking to the camera and then the image changes to show a profile view of Minh Nga and the camera gradually pans in an anticlockwise direction]
Being a finalist allows me to share and discuss with other passionate, young scientists and really just learn more about science and see what type of future career or pathway I want to take.
[Image changes to show an Australian map and text appears: BHP Billiton Foundation, Science and Engineering Awards, 2018]
[An Australian map and text appears: BHP Billiton Foundation Science and Engineering Awards 2018]
[Image changes to show Minh Nga Nguyen squatting on the grass calling a dog to her and then the camera zooms in on Minh Nga patting the dog]
[Image changes to Minh Nga walking towards the camera and smiling at the camera and then the image shows Minh Nga standing next to a pizza oven in the yard and talking to the camera]
Minh Nga Nguyen: Hi, I’m Minh Nga Nguyen. I’m in Year 11 at Sydney Girls High School and my project is called, “Recycling Waste into Biochar”, a sustainable waste water filter and fertilizer for the agricultural industry.
[Image changes to show Minh Nga putting a corn cob into a tin and then putting it into the pizza oven and closing the pizza oven door]
So, in my project I took agricultural waste products such as corn cob and turned them into a biochar material that can both absorb harmful nutrients from waste water and fertilise plants.
[Image changes to show Minh Nga talking to the camera]
Biochar is the charcoal that is produced when you burn plant matter in an environment without air.
[Images move through of biochar particles in a sandwich bag, biochar particles in the palm of a hand, Minh Nga talking to the camera and Minh Nga putting biochar particles onto potted plants]
It has properties that enable it to absorb harmful nutrients from waste water and then also release those nutrients into soil to improve plant growth.
[Image changes to show packets of biochar particles made from different products and then the image changes to show Minh Nga talking to the camera]
First of all, I took agricultural waste products such as corn and I burnt them in the pizza oven.
[Images move through of the biochar particles being poured into a test tube, the biochar particles in a filtration column and the camera pans down the system to a water bottle at the base]
Then I placed the burnt biochar into filtration columns that I used to pass waste water through and during that time the biochar absorbed the harmful nutrients from waste water.
[Images move through of the test tube of biochar particles in the filtration system, Minh Nga talking to the camera and the biochar particles being emptied into potted plants]
I expected biochar, based on its chemical properties, to be able to absorb harmful nutrients but I was quite surprised by how well it improved the plant’s growth that I tried and improved the soil.
[Image changes to show Minh Nga talking to the camera and then looking upwards]
I think in the next ten, 20, 30 years there will be a lot of… more women in science particularly as now there’s lots of programmes encouraging young girls to go into science.
[Camera zooms in on Minh Nga looking upwards and then the image changes to show Minh Nga talking to the camera]
I think I would like to be an environmental engineer and hopefully work on international projects to expand Australia’s scientific aid and expertise worldwide. I was always curious.
[Image changes to show Minh Nga working on a computer]
I always, I was a really big book worm.
[Image changes to show Minh Nga talking to the camera and then the image changes to show Minh Nga taking some cookies from the oven, icing them and putting them on the kitchen table]
I would always have my head stuck in a book somewhere or I also really liked baking and cooking and just getting my hands dirty in the kitchen.
[Image changes to show Minh Nga talking to the camera and then the image changes to show a profile view of Minh Nga and the camera gradually pans in an anticlockwise direction]
Being a finalist allows me to share and discuss with other passionate, young scientists and really just learn more about science and see what type of future career or pathway I want to take.
[Image changes to show an Australian map and text appears: BHP Billiton Foundation, Science and Engineering Awards, 2018]