Seven learners were selected to represent Southern KwaZulu-Natal at this year’s Eskom Expo International Science Fair, with Grade 10 learner Kate-Lynne Weller earning Creston College a place among the regional finalists.

Kate-Lynne is in Boksburg from 29 September to 2 October, where 316 South African young scientists are presenting their research alongside international participants.

Her project, Detecting Glycaemic Extremes: A VOC-Sensing Patch for Hyper- and Hypoglycaemic Events, investigates whether VOC sensing could offer a practical way to detect significant changes in blood glucose levels.

Creston College celebrated her selection, saying: ‘We congratulate Kate-Lynne on this outstanding accomplishment and wish her every success as she represents our region on the national stage.’

From a Creston-hosted regional to Boksburg

Kate-Lynne’s route to the International Science Fair has a particularly close connection to her school.

They hosted the Southern KwaZulu-Natal (Ugu) Regional Science Fair in August, and from that regional event, seven learners were selected to progress to the ISF. Kate-Lynne was among them.

The selection came at the end of a much larger national process. Across South Africa, 13,882 projects were presented at 287 district expos before approximately 6,300 reached regional level. The 316 South African finalists were eventually selected from 35 Eskom Expo regions across all nine provinces.

For Kate-Lynne, that progression has taken a project presented in her own region all the way to the national stage.

Exploring changes the body gives off

VOCs are volatile organic compounds released by the body. Researchers are studying whether changes in these compounds could help signal different glycaemic states.

Kate-Lynne’s project explores that field through a sensing patch aimed at detecting changes associated with hyperglycaemic and hypoglycaemic events. Her work therefore sits within a wider area of health research that is also represented at this year’s fair, where glucose regulation and disease biomarkers feature among the topics being investigated by finalists.

At the ISF, learners present and defend their projects before judges across 13 research categories. This year’s South African finalists are also joined by 24 international participants attending in person and virtually.