Young people face to face with global technological challenges

The young people from Moldova and Romania are invited to analyze the global technological development, Info-Prim Neo reports. The students from Moldova and Romania that are interested in science engineering and societal advances can take part in a contest of essays organized by the team Stiinta.info in partnership with the journal Terra Magazin. The competitors must write an essay on one of the 14 grand challenges for engineering in the 21st century. The challenges are: make solar energy economical, provide energy from fusion, develop carbon sequestration methods, manage the nitrogen cycle, provide access to clean water, restore and improve urban infrastructure, advance health informatics, engineer better medicines, reverse-engineer the brain, prevent nuclear terror, secure cyberspace, enhance virtual reality, advance personalized learning, engineer the tools of scientific discovery. The themes for the contest can be found on the site http://www.engineeringchallenges.org/ The contest participants must convince by essay that they understood the importance of the technological progress. The essay must be a comprehensive analysis of the chosen theme, show critical thinking and provide constructive and creative solutions. All the aspects of the technological situation must be analyzed from the angle of the regional situation and from the prospect of technological development at global level. The deadline for applications is May 15, 2008. The list of finalists will be posted on the website http://www.stiinta.info/concurs/ on June 1, 2008, while the winners will be announced on June 15, 2008. Further information about the participation conditions and writing of essays can be found on the same website http://www.stiinta.info/concurs/. The prizes will be awarded on categories. The first prize is a nano iPod of 2 GB offered by Media Galaxy. The second prize is a shuffle iPod of 1 GB offered by OneStop. Other prizes will include books, subscriptions and different IT products provided by the journal TerraMagazin.