One of world's top young scientists among Cork students collecting results

ONE of the world’s top young scientists was among those to collect his Leaving Cert results yesterday after an impressive result at the Google Science Fair.

Fionn Ferreira returned to Schull Community College to pick up his exam results.

Shortly after finishing his last exam earlier this summer, he had been flown to California to present his science project at Google’s headquarters. 

His project, which looked at the removal of microplastics from water through the use of ferrofluids, scooped him first prize in the contest.

Fionn Ferreira praised his school for helping him achieve his dreams.

“I am hugely honoured to have received this special recognition and a warm welcome back from the school,” he said. “I have thoroughly enjoyed my time here. The teachers in Schull Community College have created an environment which fosters learning and encourages people to strive for excellence. I want to thank them for all their support over the years, which I believe contributed to my achievements both inside and outside of school.”

Commenting on Fionn’s recent success, Padraig O’Sullivan, the deputy principal of Schull Community College, added: “We are delighted to recognise Fionn for his fantastic achievement. He has continuously striven for and achieved excellence both in school and in his extracurricular activities.

“He embodies so much of what I believe makes Schull Community College an excellent place to learn, and I wish him every success moving forward.”

Fionn currently works as a curator at the Schull Planetarium and plans to attend university in the Netherlands.

During his time in Schull Community College, he collected 12 science fair awards. He also had a minor planet named after him in 2018 at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Lincoln Laboratory, in recognition of his achievement at the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair.