Two Vietnamese high school students are taking their innovative idea for plant propagation to a major international science contest in the US.  | Phan Nhat Tram (L) and Ngo Van Quoc | A novel method of propagating plant seeds and seedlings, and shipping them to commercial flower nurseries overseas has won two Vietnamese high school students a spot in the final of the world’s largest pre-college science competition. As Vietnam’s first-ever representatives in the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF), Ngo Van Quoc and Phan Nhat Tram are justifiably the hope and pride of Da Lat, their hometown in Lam Dong Province in the Central Highlands. Talking with Thanh Nien ahead of their flight to the US for the week-long final starting tomorrow, the pair said they were both excited and nervous as it was the first time Vietnam had participated in the competition. By tomorrow, they will have arrived in Reno, Nevada and joined 1,600 entrants from more than 50 countries. Quoc and Tram beat 26 competitors in the provincial leg of the contest with their idea of planting seeds and seedlings in floral foam soaked in a nutrient solution, which is an ideal growing medium so the baby plants grow roots as they are being transported. By using floral foam rather than another medium, the growing plants can be placed close together on large, shallow trays, which are then stacked. No pots or other bulky gear is needed. The efficiency of this method is a vast improvement on traditional ways of shipping young plants. Quoc and Tram experimented with daisies, potatoes and torenia, and obtained good results in all three cases, according to their teachers. Dam Thi Kinh, vice principal of their school, Thang Long High School for the Gifted, has been observing their work closely. “We hope they do well in the international competition,” she said. Quoc and Tram presented their idea to a scientific panel appointed by Intel Vietnam, which is sponsoring their trip, and fielded questions from the judges. During this process they proved their confidence and English skills, Kinh said. Duong Tan Nhut, deputy head of the Central Highlands Institute for Biology, is sure they will do Vietnam proud with their idea, believed to be a world first. “The method is ideal for plant export,” said Nhut, who was a scientific advisor for the provincial competition that ended in March. “It’s light, compact, safe and disease-free.” Using floral foam would allow triple the quantity of plants to be transported in the same space. For example, a truck could carry 14,400 seedlings at a time, whereas it would only fit 4,700 seedlings in a standard growing medium like rice husks. Quoc said he got the idea from his grandfather’s plant nursery, which propagates seeds and trucks the seedlings to commercial horticulturalists in the region. Since transporting seedlings is difficult and time-consuming in the hilly country of Lam Dong, it started Quoc thinking about how it could be done more efficiently. It was Tram who came up with the idea of using floral foam, something her family used frequently for arranging flowers. The two students decided to team up and spent more than four months combining their ideas while struggling to keep up with their normal studies. “For the first month it was very hard to find anything we wanted to know and to become familiar with the language of science,” Quoc said. Usually the pair attended their normal classes in the morning and spent the entire afternoon in the library of the biology institute. They rarely got home before 9 p.m. and still had their homework to do. “They have worked so hard,” Principal Tran Thi Nghia told a reporter in a recent interview. “They deserve Intel ISEF’s invitation.” Another resident of Lam Dong, Phan Ngoc Thao from the eleventh grade at Duc Trong High School, is also going to the final with her research into the influence of online games on high-school students. Created by the Society for Science and the Public (formerly the Science Service), ISEF brings together young scientists from all over the world every year to have their research and innovations judged by more than 1,000 scientists and engineers. The finalists selected from the 500- plus Intel ISEF-affiliated fairs in the world compete for nearly US$4 million in awards and scholarships. Some 800 individual student and team awards are handed out every year. Every Intel ISEF-affiliated fair is contested by at least five high schools and/or a minimum of 50 students. Each fair can send two individuals and one team to the final, which is held in a different city each year, usually in the US. The ISEF has been around longer than Intel, the first being held in 1950, but this is the first year that Lam Dong Province and indeed Vietnam has participated. Intel has been the title sponsor since 1997 and commits more than $3 million annually to organize and promote the competition. In addition, each year a committee of volunteers representing the host city raises money to fund events during the fair. VietNamNet/TN
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