10 Dec 2003, The Daily Telegraph

The 2004 Awards Launch Article

By Barry Stickings

EVEN after helping to judge the competition for six years, I can give no simple recipe that will guarantee success for those who enter. But you can boost your chance of glory in the nation's most prestigious science writing competition by keeping a few things in mind.

Your entry should use just 700 or so words to discuss science or technology in an entertaining, informative and original way while being clear, concise and accessible to readers of The Daily Telegraph. That much is obvious.

It needs a interesting subject. It needs a good `intro' to grab the reader's interest. It needs to be up to date. Journalistic methods will be favoured by the judges, such as seeking an interview with a scientist (in person, by e-mail or phone), in addition to drawing on published papers and media accounts.

Your entry must be accurate. Evaluate each source of information in terms of its originality, relevance, worth and veracity. Take particular care when it comes to information on the Internet.

You should have no problem in coming up with a good topic. There is plenty to write about in my company alone. BASF, one of the world's leading chemical companies, has a workforce of about 90,000 people and generates annual sales of almost Euro 32 billion. As part of our effort to do this, we invest Euro 1 billion in research and development.

Each year we hire scores of young scientists who help us develop ranges of new products in industrial and speciality chemicals, in plastics, in health and nutrition and more. They also help develop processes for manufacturing
products that are more efficient, use less energy and give less waste.

Our scientists develop new catalysts to speed up industrial processes, novel plastics to make cars lighter, paints which use less solvent, tear resistant paper, water resistant leather, and much more. The list is almost endless,
as is the vast range of technologies that are used, such as nanotechnology, combinatorial chemistry and 3D computer modelling.

Just think about some of the ideas that have been developed as a result of our investment in science and scientists, ranging from a new generation of environmentally friendly adhesives, biodegradeable plastic food wrappings
which can act as a fertiliser and novel textile printing technologies that could lead to unique fabrics, such as one that matches the fur of your dog.

When you multiply our developments to include all the other work being done around the world in companies, government laboratories and universities and colleges, the subjects you can tackle are endless.

Follow this advice and you could see your article in print and win a trip to America. We are also offering a £500 prize to the school that submits the best entries and another £200 for the teacher who provided the inspiration.

Barry Stickings is Regional President of the chemical company BASF. For more information on BASF, see www.basf.com