OSPE - The Voice - Winter 2019 - 36

STUDENTS

Essay Contest Winners tackle

CANADA'S ENERGY
PROBLEMS
T

Thomas Frankovich, Markham District High School student

ONE OF THE ESSAY CONTEST WINNERS WAS THOMAS
FRANKOVICH, FROM MARKHAM DISTRICT HIGH
SCHOOL, WHO ENTERED THE CONTEST BECAUSE HE
WAS INTERESTED IN LEARNING ABOUT THE
INCREDIBLE RESEARCH THAT THE SPEAKERS WERE
DOING, AS WELL AS GETTING TO EXPERIENCE NEW
OPPORTUNITIES, AND SEEING THE TECHNOLOGY
AND FACILITIES PRESENT AT THE POST-SECONDARY
LEVEL IN THE AREA OF CHEMISTRY.
- Thomas Frankovich

36

THE VOICE

Winter 2020

he 10th annual "Lunch with a Laureate" essay contest,
organized by the department of chemistry at the University
of Toronto, took place this past May. The Laureate Events are
aimed at encouraging high school students to pursue post
secondary education in the Science, Technology, Engineering
and Math (STEM) disciplines, while recognizing their teachers
for the wonderful job they do in mentoring them.
Associate professor and event organizer, Dr. Cecilia Kutas,
Ph.D., described the 2019 essay contest as one where "amazing
essays were produced, touching on very relevant and concrete
solutions to some of the world's major problems."
This yearly contest is open to high school age students in the
Greater Toronto Area, all of whom have their essays evaluated
by a team of chemistry department personnel composed of
professors and graduate students.
One of the essay contest winners was Thomas Frankovich,
from Markham District High School, who entered the contest
because he "was interested in learning about the incredible
research that the speakers were doing, as well as getting to
experience new opportunities, and seeing the technology
and facilities present at the post-secondary level in the area
of chemistry."
Frankovich chose to write about nuclear energy because
the topic appealed to him in several different ways. "The
technology, chemistry, and physics involved with nuclear
power fascinates me. I was also captivated by professor
Ottensmeyer's plan to use Fast Nuclear Reactors (FNRs) to
dispose of CANDU (Canada Deuterium Uranium) waste and
drastically increase the efficiency of Ontario's nuclear power
facilities.
The relevance that nuclear power has to environmental
science and protection resonated with me. I feel that
environmental conservation and preservation is of the
utmost importance, and the Ottensmeyer's plan and other
nuclear power developments present an extremely tangible
and effective approach to eliminating the use of fossil fuels and
increasing the sustainability and viability of nuclear power as
our main zero-emission fuel source."
OSPE - The Voice - Winter 2019

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