OSA Ambassador - Caleb

Get to know Caleb!

How did you first get involved in OSA?
The Oliphant Science Awards were promoted quite extensively at my primary school every year, but it wasn’t until seeing my friend in the year above me at school winning an award that I finally decided to get involved myself back in Year 5 in 2017. Computer programming and robotics was something that I was really fascinated by and I was already making projects for fun all the time, so I figured I didn’t have much to lose by giving this competition a crack, and if anything it would be a really good excuse for my parents to buy me more parts to help build my projects!

Why do you participate?
I keep coming back to the Oliphant Science Awards because it’s genuinely so fun and fulfilling. The process of building, coding, writing, researching, and problem-solving, and all the late nights spent with my friends, parents and teachers working on my entries carries so many memories for me, and participating every year has taught me so many skills which go above and beyond what I may have otherwise learnt in the classroom. Yes, there were moments of frustration, but overwhelmingly, every year, the sense of pride and reward that I felt upon finally completing a project and seeing all the hours and the hard work come to life never fades.

What advice would you give to other OSA entrants?
To anyone thinking about entering, or already working on their submission; keep going. Not every project will be perfect, and not every year will result in a win — I submitted two projects in Years 10 and 11 that didn’t place at all. But I did learn from every experience. My best advice would be to pick topics that genuinely fascinate you, not just ones you think might impress the judges. When you’re genuinely interested in what you're investigating or creating, it shows in your work, and keeps you motivated through all the challenges. Follow your curiosity, and don't be afraid to experiment (or fail — trust me, you will, and that’s okay). And try something new, push yourself a little further each year, try entering a couple different categories (something I certainly wish I did more of), and know that the skills and confidence you gain will stick with you long after judging ends.

What is your favourite project that you have submitted?
While I’ve submitted a range of projects over the years, my first major project, a smart greenhouse designed to optimise sustainable plant growth using various sensors and automated features, holds a special place in my heart. It was my first taste of combining coding, engineering, and scientific thinking into something tangible to solve real world problems, and I’ll never forget the feeling of seeing it finally work after so many coding headaches and so much time spent rewiring. I vividly remember spending my $40 prize money to buy parts for my next project which I entered into the Oliphant Science Awards the year after.