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University of Otago Chemistry PhD candidate Beth Lippitt has won the People's Choice Award in AMP IGNITE, an annual event where PhD students pitch their research as a performance piece before a live business audience.
Beth says her 'off the cuff, spontaneous entry' into AMP IGNITE led to two trips to Auckland, where she and nine other PhD students met with several mentors, including scientist Dr Michelle Dickenson (aka Nano Girl) and comedian Te Radar. The mentors and Edge Creative (a company which helps businesses present material in interactive ways) helped the students refine their research ideas into three-minute presentations.
For the final performance in Wellington, a ll the competitors emerged on stage via a life-size Tardis. Taking on a super hero persona, with dry ice flowing around her props, Beth explained how she planned to make porous flexible cages of lignands and metals, which are able to trap gas molecules.
Beth says, “I focused on catching CO2 or methane by lining car exhausts and factory chimneys with these cages, preventing the gases entering the atmosphere and reducing climate change risk.
“Using dry ice was a real crowd pleaser. I received $1000 for winning People's Choice and AMP gave all of us $1000 each for all our hard work.
“My script was changing all the way up to the final moment it was quite stressful but I learned that is how you come up with a perfect product – it was a great learning experience.”