The Science Department is proud to announce the name of the Scientist of the Year for the academic year 2016 - 2017. This year's recipient is Ayumu Nishimura an extremely motivated and talented student who demonstrated through weeks of hard work that she had what it takes to make a successful researcher.

The Senior Scientist of the Year Award is made to a Grade 12 student who has demonstrated the highest levels of motivation, organisation and development of their scientific research skills during Grades 11 and 12. The student typically listens to and acts upon advice given, responds positively in the face of adversity, and puts time and effort into their research projects above and beyond expectations. Their research projects will have been developed as a result of in depth background research. The student will typically have used creativity in overcoming problems with their experimental protocol and will have refined their method based on the results of preliminary experiments. They will have demonstrated the highest levels of moral and ethical integrity and have demonstrated an appreciation for safety issues and the environmental impact of their projects. The award is the most prestigious award made by the Saint Maur Science Department and as such is only made in years when a sufficiently talented student is present.

During the course of her IB Diploma, Ayumu Nishimura studied Higher Level Biology and Higher Level Chemistry. Ayumu conducted ground-breaking research in both disciplines over the course of her Individual Investigations. The quality of her research was such that she was selected to represent the school during the prestigious YSFH Forum for International Research in Science and Technology, where she gave a talk about her research in Biology.

Ayumu presenting her research at YSFHfirst