This is the largest competition of scientific projects on the African continent, with 300 participants from 40 countries. 

The Ukrainian young JAS members won two gold medals: for their innovative material and their own theorem. 

Sofia Kozynets and her innovative composite material

The young lady created an epoxy composite with fillers, an innovative material that can be used in medical, household, or industrial applications. 

Sofia presented a research paper on epoxy composites (epoxy resin) and plant fillers. These composites can have different shapes depending on the practical application. They were filled with plant residues because it reduces the cost of the production process. 

«In the project, my supervisor and I used 7 fillers», the inventor told JAS Media. «One of them, cellulose, was created in the laboratory, while the others are the most common plant residues. For example, we used coffee and cocoa: we can get this raw material from coffee shops or restaurants and create eco-materials that are necessary for humanity in medicine, ecology, or construction».

After additional research, the girl noted that this material, among other things, could become a substitute for titanium prostheses, as such operations have already been performed in the world.  In Ukraine, there is a great need for prostheses for both soldiers and civilians affected by the war. 

Sofia Manko and her own theorem 

The young lady not only came up with new proofs of Morley's theorem, exploring cases that had not been considered before, but also formulated her own theorem. 

Sophia noticed that Morley's theorem has no proofs that schoolchildren could understand — all of them require complex calculations. So she decided to prove the theorem using a method that her peers could understand.

«In the process of proving it, I had to choose methods for a long time: I couldn't repeat someone else or use materials studied in the senior years of university», the scientist said. «I proved my own theorem by the method of selection: I tried one thing, saw that it didn't work, and tried another». 

According to Morley's theorem, to form an interior triangle, each angle of a triangle must be divided into three equal parts. But Sofia wanted to prove a more general case, so that there would be no need to divide the angle in this way. 

«I drew a lot to see the possible solutions, used analytical geometry methods and visualization using my own Python software», she says. And in the end, she achieved the result for which she received gold at I-FEST. 

Follow the link to read the full stories of the heroines.