Gold Medal for "Bacterial Battery" Research

Two Murdoch College students have been awarded a gold medal in a national Csiro Crest-sponsored science program, Creativity in Science and Technology, for their work on a “bacterial battery.” The award is one of only three gold medals awarded in Australia this year.

The program runs in schools throughout Australia and encourages and supports students to design and undertake their own science and technology projects.

Year 12 physics students Courtenay Mandy and Hironori Ashihara have spent at least 100 hours over the past two years investigating the possibility of bacteria generating a small electrical current which could be used to power small appliances

Their work and findings were presented to three independent tertiary academics from Murdoch, Curtin and Edith Cowan Universities recently who confirmed their work worthy of a gold medal.

“We enjoyed the independent learning and creativity offered in the program. We were in charge of this project, so it was up to us to research and develop it,” said Mandy.

“The battery is still in the experimental stage. However, we would like to develop it further and maybe in future use it in everyday appliances,” said Ashihara.