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Awards for the lighter side of scientific research
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THE third annual Pineapple Science Prize handed out its awards last Saturday at Zhejiang Science and Technology Museum in Hangzhou.
Seven smart ideas were awarded in the categories of math, biology and medicine, psychology, physics, chemistry, invention and imagination. Another two received awards for amusing achievements.
The award-winning inventions and ideas include an answer to why Southeast Asians sweat more easily than others, the mate preference of fruit flies, an invisible cloak that costs 92 yuan (US$14.80) and a robotic donkey.
Unlike serious science prizes, the Pineapple Science Prize rewards ideas and inventions that popularize science in thought-provoking ways.
The awards were initiated by Ji Xiaohua, founder of Guoker.com, a social networking website for science fans, and Li Ruihong, curator of the Zhejiang Science and Technology Museum.
Inspired by the Ig Nobel Prizes, an American parody of the Nobel Prizes that are awarded each year to 10 bizarre or trivial achievements in scientific research, Ji came up with the idea to set up a Chinese version of the Ig prizes three years ago, which aroused Li’s interest. They organized the first Pineapple Science Prize in Hangzhou in 2012.
The prize jury comprises a dozen scientists and professors, who ensure the science is sound, and two dozens of artists, writers, musicians and actors who decide whether the projects are interesting enough to capture the public imagination.
Each year, the ceremony for winners features a science fair and exhibition. A Nobel Prize winner is invited to explain the scientific benefits of the idea. This year, Aaron Ciechanover, an Israeli scientist who won the 2004 Nobel Prize in chemistry, attended the gala.
Pineapple Science Prize:
Math: 40 percent of people are born with mathematics anxiety.
Winner: Team organized by Wang Zhe from Ohio State University
Biology and medicine: Why Southeast Asians sweat more easily than others?
Winner: Team organized by Wang Sijia from Fudan University
Psychology: The earlier a child knows how to lie, the smarter he is.
Winner: Team organized by Li Kang from Toronto University
Physics: Invisible cloak priced at 92 yuan.
Winner: Team organized by Chen Hongsheng from Zhejiang University
Chemistry: Mate preference of fruit flies.
Winner: Team organized by Xue Lei from Tongji University
Invention: Robotic donkey.
Winner: Four-foot Robot Team from Shandong University
Imagination: Movie “Thunderbolt Baby” filmed in 1988.
Pineapple You Prize: Four-line love poem competition organized by Jilin University.
Pineapple Me Prize: Professor Ding Zejun of University of Science and Technologyof China.
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