Michaela Loukas of Marist Catholic College Penshurst has been crowned Young Scientist of the Year, recognised for an advanced research project using artificial intelligence to improve breast-cancer classification.
Her award-winning study, Assessing the Accuracy and Interpretability of a Recurrent Neural Network for Breast Cancer Classification and Molecular Subtyping using Ribonucleic Acid Sequencing Data, impressed judges with its scientific rigour and real-world medical relevance.
The awards, held at the University of Technology Sydney on November 28, celebrated outstanding scientific innovation among K–12 students across the state. This year’s competition drew more than 500 entries.
Equal second place went to Noah Riva (Barrenjoey High School) for his work tracking PFAS contamination along the Snowy River, and Thea Barron (Lambton High School) for her study on shoreline impacts on microplastic fragmentation.
Other major honours included Holly Bennett (Kinross Wolaroi School), named Rural Young Scientist of the Year, and Kaelyn Chick (Presbyterian Ladies’ College), awarded Primary Young Scientist of the Year. The Budding Young Scientist Award for students in Years K–2 went to Blake Rhim of Arden Anglican School.
The program, now in its 33rd year and run by the Science Teachers’ Association of NSW (STANSW), encourages students to tackle real-world problems through inquiry, experimentation and creative problem-solving.
STANSW Vice President Dr Lauren McKnight said the awards help students experience “authentic practices of science,” adding: “These experiences help young people see science not just as a subject, but as a way of understanding and shaping the world around them.”
Selected finalists will go on to represent NSW at the National iCubed Science Awards.
