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“Back in 2022, my granny was diagnosed with early stages dementia, and one of the first things I noticed was that she struggled to sit down. This led to loads of close falls and my grandad had to be in the room to help her and I wanted a way to fix this.
1. Helper AI (An app to identify and advise on injuries) – Callum Farrell and Nathan Hernandez Rovira in Junior Technology.
Teacher Rebecca Wray with winners Richie Johnson, Tyler Ferguson and Jack Walsh
atest superlong press release from Greystones Community College, 
issued on Saturday, January 10th 2026…
atest superlong press release from Greystones Community College, 
issued on Saturday, January 10th 2026…After four days of exhibition where Ireland’s brightest and best scientific minds gathered in the RDS to showcase their work, 4 major awards were secured by Greystones Community College at the Stripe Young Scientist and Technology Exhibition this year.
Commenting on the awards, Cllr. Louise Fenelon Gaskin, Chairperson of the Board of Management said that “this weekend, at Greystones Community College, we are not only celebrating the phenomenal success of our amazing students, with so many finalists and awards coming back to the school, but we are also recognising our dedicated teachers who leave no stone unturned in always going that extra mile.
“I am so proud to be Chairperson of the Board of Management at such a progressive school that achieves at this high level.”
One major winner was a project focused on AstroRim which demonstrated the reconstruction of source objects in gravitational lenses via physics informed machine learning. This project claimed the top prize in the Senior Chemical, Physical and Mathematical Sciences section for 18-year-old Greystones Community College student Jack Walsh.
Describing his award-winning project, 6th year student Jack explained that he used “machine learning to study the bending of light and determine the dark matter profiles present”.
Commenting on his big win, Jack continued, “Given this is my third year competing in the Young Scientist finalists, I am overjoyed to have received first place overall in my category, and I am proud and elated that all the years I have put into research have finally paid off.”
Commenting on his big win, Jack continued, “Given this is my third year competing in the Young Scientist finalists, I am overjoyed to have received first place overall in my category, and I am proud and elated that all the years I have put into research have finally paid off.”Minister for Education and Youth, Hildegarde Naughton TD presented some of the awards.
“Given the extremely high standard of entries presented by students at the RDS this week,” she said, “it is a tremendous achievement to be awarded a prize. It is a wonderful testament to the students’ hard work and dedication to their chosen field of research, as well as to the unwavering support of their families, teachers and school.
“It was a delight to meet with students and their teachers from schools right across the country this week and to witness the wide-ranging, insightful and groundbreaking research they have conducted, and I am in no doubt that their work will be of so much benefit to our country and indeed our world.”
Tyler Ferguson and his security detail…
This exhibition is very much a celebration of the talents of young people across our schools – not just the 500 exhibitors here but also the over 2,000 projects that enter every year. In celebrating this energy and excitement in the sciences.
Another winner was 14-year-old Tyler Ferguson, a 2nd year student who secured 3rd place in the Junior Health and Wellbeing Section with his nifty design Sure Sit Mat, an innovative product to help elderly and those with dementia to sit down safely. Tyler explained in his own words the story behind his award winning project…
“Back in 2022, my granny was diagnosed with early stages dementia, and one of the first things I noticed was that she struggled to sit down. This led to loads of close falls and my grandad had to be in the room to help her and I wanted a way to fix this. 
I created an anti-slip mat with yellow footprints which is placed at the correct distance from the chair. There is an initial cue in the form of a recording of my grandad’s voice which sounds automatically when she steps on the mat to remind her to find to yellow footprints and when the pressure pad under the footprints is activated when her feet are in the correct place, the second cue activates. This is a recording of my grandad’s voice telling my Granny it is now safe to sit down.
“I have really enjoyed the Young Scientist exhibition this year, it has been great fun creating my project and everyone in school has been so supportive,” Tyler concluded.
Another success for the school came with 18-year-old Richie Johnson, who achieved 3rd place overall in the Senior Biological and Ecological category for his project titled Electric Evolution. Richie investigated the use of cold plasma for plasmid mediated DNA transfer achieving highly commended in his competitive category.
Principal Farrell with Cllr Louise Fenelon Gaskin
“I want to thank our teachers who have perhaps given the students the spark that lit the fire of exploration and investigation in their minds. It has been a privilege for me to see their innovation, creativity and attention to detail in their projects.”
Teacher Ms Rebecca Wray was delighted to attend the finals with a strong contingent of Greystones Community College students. “It has been an absolute privilege to work with such talented and dedicated students,” she said. “Their hard work, creativity, and passion for science have truly been inspiring, a testament to what collaboration can achieve. Attending the finals with such a strong representation from Greystones Community College fills our school community with immense pride…”