Jugend Forscht competition: Young scientists present their projects
Regional competition Jugend forscht 2025 at FAU
Jugend forscht celebrated its 60th anniversary. As was the case last year, the regional competition was held at Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU). Young researchers from Middle Franconia were welcomed by the FAU Department of Physics to present their projects to the public and the competition jury in this year’s competition with the motto “Turn questions into answers”.
Plastic-free oceans and preventing cheating in examinations
121 young people with a total of 73 projects in 7 subjects including the world of work, biology, chemistry, geological and spacial science, mathematics and computer science, physics and engineering took part in the regional competition Jugend forscht at FAU. 14-year-old Lina Seuferling, who developed a waste collection boat also took part in the project. “I have been passionate about protecting our climate since I was little and it has been clear to me for a long time that I wanted to make a contribution.” Lina, a pupil at the Christian-Ernst-Gymnasium (CEG) in Erlangen is particularly concerned about the ocean. She built a boat that collects waste from the surface of the water using a conveyor belt. To make space for the conveyor belt, Lina was inspired by the design of the catamaran. The space between the two hulls is ideal for such an assembly.
“I have been passionate about protecting our climate since I was little and it has been clear to me for a long time that I wanted to make a contribution.” Lina Seuferling
While Lina submitted her project in the junior category of Jugend Forscht, 18-year-old Annalena Wißler represented CEG in the senior category with her project “Modern uses for Faraday Cages”. Her goal was to design a room that could shield against devices used to cheat in examinations. “In driving school we were told that people are increasingly cheating in theory exams by using modern technology such as mobile devices connected to miniature cameras and microphones. I wanted to create a device that blocked unauthorized communication and could be easily integrated in existing rooms without costing too much.” Annalena’s idea was to create a fine aluminum mesh directly beneath the wallpaper as the material is inexpensive and should block electromagnetic radiation through its conductivity.
Video: Visiting Jugend forscht 2025 at FAU
The FAU Social Media Team was at the competition and interviewed some of the participants about their projects. Watch the video to find out more.
About the Jugend forscht competition
During the Jugend forscht competition, schoolchildren compete in several rounds. Regional competitions of Jugend forscht are held across Germany – FAU hosts the competition for Middle Franconia. Regional competition winners progress on to a state competition where they have the chance to qualify for the national competition. All rounds of the competition include two age groups: school children aged 9 to 14 in the junior category and 15 to 21 year olds in the senior category.
Winners of the regional competition
Apart from Lina and Annlena’s projects, 71 other projects were submitted in the competition. This included pioneering ideas such as a system for warning blind people of dangerous situations in real time, voice-controlled robots and solar panels that automatically change their position with the sun. The winning teams from the regional competition will now meet at the state competition in Klingenberg and Regensburg. The winners:
World of work: Alexander Panteleyev (17) and Mahery Schmitt (17) and Lotte Wimmer (18), Martin-Behaim-Gymasium Nürnberg, “Siloah aeyes“
Biology: Isabelle Tolkien (18), Willstätter Gymnasium, “AI analysis of plankton in water samples“
Chemistry: Franziska Kopp (20), Staatliche Berufsoberschule Triesdorf, “Investigation of active ingredient concentrations in ASS tablets stored in different ways“
Geography and spatial science: Alec Scuda (18) und Christian Schmidt (18), Friedrich-Alexander Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, “Altitude-controllable weather balloon“
Physics: Mark Heimlich (15), Willstätter Gymnasium, “The magnetic pendulum and the chaos system“
Technology (2 first prizes): Ahmad Milad Karimyar (18), Mittelschule Fürth Hans-Sachs-Straße, “Click Band: Research on future human-computer interaction“
and
Richard Galfi (18), Willstätter Gymnasium Nürnberg “Microcontroller recording of ultra-macro photographs“
World of work (2x first prize): Julia Beckh (13), Wanning Lu (13), Nürnberg Willstätter Gymnasium, “Optimal ventilation in classrooms“
and
Luna Rippel (13), Evika Galsin (13), Sarah Niemann (13), Ohm-Gymnasium Erlangen, “Smart compass – new innovation for maths classrooms“
Biology: Laura Hoffmann (11), Oberdachstetten Platen-Gymnasium, “Is plant growth influenced by how we treat them?“
Chemistry: Raphael Antonio Smykala (12) and Tim Dominik Löffler (12), Christian-Ernst-Gymnasium Erlangen, “Fantastic fire fountains”
Mathematik/Computer science: Erik Zimmermann (14), Leibniz-Gymnasium Altdorf, “LabOrganizer“
Physics: Leonie Sun (13) und Leilani Ai (13), Christian-Ernst-Gymnasium Erlangen, “How tear-resistant is hair?“
Engineering: Hannes Friedrich (14), Gymnasium Eckental, “Development and construction of a fridge ventilator for removing mold and odors“
Further information:
Dr. Angela Fösel
angela.foesel@fau.de