Queenswood student Emma Poppleton (LowerSixth) is an enterprising young woman. Previously, her skills as an animator and
a cake decorator have won her prizes in national competitions; now she has
turned her attention to engineering, examining some of the challenges and
opportunities for engineers in the 21st century.

She has recently learned that she is one of
just 15 shortlisted finalists in the Talent 2030 National
Schools Engineering Competition for Girls. Her submission is an extremely
accessible and entertaining animation
about the possibilities of transforming waste products into energy – an
initiative which she calls ‘Waste to Wanted’.

She makes the case that reliance on
traditional fossil fuels and current accepted concepts of ‘renewable energy’ will
not meet demand in the near future. The proposals she outlines in this video,
including anaerobic digestion of organic matter, and the recycling of heat lost
in homes and offices as energy, are as exciting as they are radical.

Emma has been invited to showcase her
project at this year’s Big Bang Fair, which takes place at The NEC in
Birmingham on Saturday 14th March. She will have her own dedicated stall, and
will also have the opportunity to explore the full extent of the fair, the
largest celebration of science, technology, engineering and maths for young
people in the UK.

It is a terrific achievement to have
been shortlisted; Emma is now hopeful that she will be one of the prize-winners
announced on Friday 20 February. Queenswood would like to wish Emma the very
best of luck.