On the 17th and 18th of January 2019 the second round on the Irish European Science Olympiad (IrEUSO) took place in Dublin City University. The top twelve students from Science in Ireland (four from Physics, four from Chemistry and four from Biology) took part in this competition.  Each of these students had won a medal in the first round of the competition held earlier this year. One student from Carlow was among the group. Damian Korus from Presentation College Carlow who got a bronze medal in round one proudly represented the school in physics.

On the first day of round two, each group of students had laboratory activities. The physicists worked with an oscilloscope and a signal generator as well as other electronic equipment. At the end of the day, they had to graph the fraction of the total voltage that was across a capacitor as a function of frequency.

On the morning of the second day, the physicists had a tour around the laboratories of the DCU. They made plastic chips to investigate capillary action. They used a laser cutter to manufacture these chips. This was a very interesting and exciting experience. After lunch, everyone had a practical examination. The physicists had to do two experiments. One to calculate the young’s modulus of the material of a meter-stick and the other to graph the resistance of a filament bulb as a function of voltage.

Damian received great support from his Physics teacher Ms. Claire McHugh, who covered all the necessary material including the experiments mentioned above. Unfortunately, Damian did not get through to the next round. He enjoyed the experience. Damian is very grateful to both the Principal Mr. Murray and his teacher Ms. McHugh for all their help and support.