BENENDEN STEM

CONVENTION 2022
10 NOVEMBER 2022

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 BENENDEN STEM
CONVENTION 2022
Welcome to our first Benenden STEM Convention, a student-led event that
we hope will become an annual celebration of the importance of STEM in
current education, through providing the opportunity to showcase the
incredible work, talent and passion for STEM our students share.

A glance through the research questions and titles of student

presentations alongside our keynote talks planned for the day reveals the
incredible talent and effort that has gone into making this event an
exciting moment for everyone.

Conventions such as this provide a valuable opportunity for them to share

experiences that will inevitably spark interest, inspire minds and hopefully
create future leaders in this field. I am grateful to the experts who have
come to share their knowledge this week and I also welcome the
representatives from the host of schools who have joined us. I am sure you
will have fruitful and rewarding exchanges during the conference and I
look forward to our collaborations in the future.

Finally, thank you to my amazing team who have worked meticulously in

the creation of this event, in particular to our Lead STEM Ambassadors,
Georgia Halsted, Amelia Lowis, and Scarlett Mansfield and our STEM
Events and Outreach Coordinator, Mrs. Jane Gerrard

Christian Brady - Head of Science

cjb@benenden.school
PROGRAMME OF EVENTS
9:30 - 10:00

Arrival, registration, project set-ups (Jat Atrium)

10:00 - 11:00

Introductions and Keynote speaker - Prof. Kevin Moffat (Centenary Hall)

'Breathing with your brain'

11:00 - 11:40

Science Fair & Break (Centenary Hall and Jat Atrium)

11:45 - 12:15

Carousel 1 of Project presentations (WLT, Physics 1, 2, 3)

12:15 - 12:55

Lunch (Dining room)

13:00 - 13:45

Keynote speaker - Dr Laura Mahoney Sanchez (Centenary Hall)

'Researching neurodegeneration and Parkinson's disease'

13:50 - 14:20

Carousel 2 of Project presentations (WLT, Physics 1, 2, 3)

14:00 - 14:30

Whole school invited to browse Science Fair (Centenary Hall)

14:25 - 15:05

Carousel 3 of Project presentations (WLT, Physics 1, 2, 3)

15:10 - 16:00

Keynote speaker - Dr Maggie Aderin-Pocock (Centenary Hall)

'Am I made of stardust?'

16:00

Headmistress' address, prize-giving, farewells (Centenary Hall)

GUEST SPEAKERS

PROFESSOR KEVIN MOFFAT

Kevin Moffat is currently a director of outreach and a fellow of the Warwick Institute
of Engagement at the University of Warwick. He has over 30 years of academic
research experience in dementia, neuroscience, and genetics in both the UK and
Australia. Kevin’s higher education teaching interests are at the interface of an
educational divide – training scientists to do science, yet the need to be creative and
to have empathy with those who, in turn, wish to listen, question, and influence
science. Kevin has worked with theatre groups, radio, television, schools, and a
variety of publics. He is also a senior fellow of the Higher Education Academy and an
editor for the sixth-form magazine Biological Sciences Review.

DR LAURA MAHONEY SANCHEZ

After completing her A levels in a Spanish high school, she enrolled in a Biomedical
Sciences Bachelor Programme at King’s College London. During her Undergraduate
studies, she actively participated in several research projects from Cardiovascular,
Developmental Biology and Neuroscience both through summer projects and a year-
long extramural Programme at The Florey Institute of Neurosciences in Melbourne.
After completion of her Undergraduate studies, she undertook a PhD at the University
of Lille, where she focused on understanding the death of neurons in Parkinson’s
Disease. Today, she is a postdoctoral researcher at University College London, working
at The Francis Crick Institute, where she is pursuing her research on
neurodegeneration.

DR MAGGIE ADERIN-POCOCK
Dr Maggie Aderin-Pocock MBE is an award-winning space scientist, broadcaster
and author who has worked with several educational institutions to promote the
study of STEM subjects. She holds a degree in Physics and a PhD in Mechanical
Engineering from Imperial College. Her acclaimed work has ranged from working
in the Ministry of Defence within The Defence Evaluation Research Council making
novel, bespoke, scientific instruments including missile warning systems, hand-held
land mine detectors and optical sub-systems for spacecraft, designing and
building instruments for the Gemini telescope, though to co-hosting the BBC
mainstay astronomy programme The Sky at Night. As a Science Educator and the
founder of Science Innovation Ltd., she has engaged with some 350,000 school
children, mainly in UK inner-city schools, but also around the world. She credits her
deep passion for science as the tool that allowed her to break through social
mobility barriers. She received an MBE in 2009 for services to science and science
education. Dr Aderin-Pocock is also a Commissioner for the Commission on Race
and Ethnic Disparities.
CAROUSEL 1 - PRESENTATIONS
11:45 - 12:15

PHYSICS 1

TONBRIDGE SCHOOL - The effect of sodium nitrate on bacterial growth at different

concentrations.
BENENDEN SCHOOL - How does pollution vary in rivers across the UK?
SUTTON VALENCE SCHOOL - The effectiveness of different sunscreens as protection
against UV rays.

PHYSICS 2

CLAREMONT SCHOOL - Is artificial intelligence the future of medicine?

BENENDEN SCHOOL - Dreams and Lucid Dreaming.
THE JUDD - The living density - the higher the better?

PHYSICS 3

TONBRIDGE SCHOOL - Does the Carbon Chain length of an alcohol affect its ability to
inhibit the growth of Gram-Positive and Gram-Negative Bacteria?
THE JUDD - Could Jurassic Park become a reality?
BENENDEN SCHOOL - Chemistry in Thai nasal inhaler (Poysian).

WESTON LECTURE
THEATRE

BENENDEN SCHOOL - How the cutting of the stem affects growth rate.
THE JOHN WALLIS ACADEMY - The Hair Project.
SUTTON VALENCE SCHOOL - The Investigation of Modern Impact Attenuators.
CAROUSEL 2 - PRESENTATIONS
13:50 - 14:20

PHYSICS 1

CLAREMONT SCHOOL - Is hydrogen the future of automotive engineering?

FOLKESTONE SCHOOL FOR GIRLS - Efficacy of 'claimed' natural antibacterial substances.
BENENDEN SCHOOL - What is the science and technology behind MOXIE on NASA
perseverance?

PHYSICS 2

TONBRIDGE SCHOOL - The effect of temperature and concentration on conductivity.

BENENDEN SCHOOL - Aquaponics.
CRANBROOK SCHOOL - Relationship between electrical conductivity and diameter of
graphite clay composites.

PHYSICS 3

TONBRIDGE SCHOOL - Does temperature affect the stridulation organs of Gryllus

Assimilis?
CRANBROOK SCHOOL - Does shape affect flavour?
BENENDEN SCHOOL - What are mycorrhizae fungi and how do they help plants?

WESTON LECTURE
THEATRE

BENENDEN SCHOOL - How do drugs affect you?

CRANBROOK SCHOOL - How the eyes respond to emotional imagery.
FOLKESTONE SCHOOL FOR GIRLS - Cleanliness of different parts of the school and
the effect of antimicrobial products.
CAROUSEL 3 - PRESENTATIONS
14:25 - 15:05

PHYSICS 1

TONBRIDGE SCHOOL - How does the concentration of a salt solution affect its
refractive index?
THE JUDD - Investigating the science of autumn - a closer look into the metamorphosis
of leaves.
BENENDEN SCHOOL - Sight loss and related diseases.
PHYSICS 2

TONBRIDGE SCHOOL - How does the mass of water in a bowl affect its resonant
frequency?
THE JUDD - Why cancer rates are incresing?
CRANBROOK SCHOOL - Direct effects of elevated acid concentration on Daphnia.
Modelling freshwater acidification on pondlife.
BENENDEN SCHOOL - Piezoelectric materials.

PHYSICS 3

TONBRIDGE SCHOOL - How does the position of the pivot point and the mass
distribution, influence the oscillation time of a Compound Pendulum?
THE JUDD - The science of trauma responses: the long-term impacts on brain chemistry and
physical wellbeing.
ASHFORD SCHOOL - Can Facial Recognition AI be fooled by UV paint?
BENENDEN SCHOOL - Alternatives to animal testing.
WESTON LECTURE
THEATRE
TONBRIDGE SCHOOL - Antimicrobial Effects of Manuka Honey.
THE JUDD - The effect of age on the memory of Drosophila melanogaster.
CRANBROOK SCHOOL - Quantifying the attraction of birds to sounds.
BENENDEN SCHOOL - Is the Multiverse Theory a realistic view of the world?
 Benenden School
Cranbrook, Kent
TN17 4AA

BENENDEN STEM
CONVENTION 2022
10 NOVEMBER 2022