When people think of 16 year olds skipping school to jet-set across Canada and major American cities to pursue a career, teen pop-stars such as Miley Cyrus or Justin Bieber probably come to mind.
While Emma Graham doesn’t have an album, she just may be destined for big things in the future.
She recently earned a $1,000 award for the commercialization potential of her research project that uses Indian Dill Oil to produce effective less toxic pesticides.
The Sanofi-Aventis BioTalent challenge was held in Ottawa at the National Research Council headquarters and judged by distinguished scientists.
Graham has been competing in science fairs for the last several years but says her interest in science was awakened at age 9 when she lived with her chemist mother in China.
“We lived in Dalin, which is a port city, and the harbor turned white because it was so polluted and I became interested in how science could deal with pollution,” Graham said in an interview.
She says that experience made her more aware of the effects industry can have on the environment and motivated her to use her science know-how to help solve those problems.
Her focus narrowed from science to research a few years ago when she says she started volunteering at a lab where she optimized pharmaceuticals.
For her Indian Dill Oil pesticide project, Graham worked with University of Ottawa emeritus professor Tony Durst.
Durst, who was U of O professor of the year in 1999, helped Graham choose the project and provided her with guidance during her research.
“It was great working with Tony, he made me feel really well taken care of,” says Graham.
Graham attends Lisgar Collegiate’s congregated gifted program and she says that her teachers don’t treat her any differently because of her busy science fair circuit.
Balancing her heavy workload at school and her science fair work is no easy task and she says that if she didn’t compete in science fairs her marks would be higher, but Graham says it’s worth it.
“It’s amazing that with science you can change the world.”
When she’s not peering in a microscope, travelling to competitions, or catching up at school, Graham says she’s a lot like ordinary 16 year olds.
“I like to hang out with my friends and watch TV and I row on the canal with the Ottawa Rowing Club,” says Graham.
What’s in her future? Graham says she isn’t set on anything but she would like to attend McGill, Yale or the University of Ottawa for medicine.
As for her immediate future, Graham knew exactly what she to do. She needed to pack her suitcase to go to Toronto and then to San Jose, Calif., for an international science competition.