Images: Oliphant Science Awards
In the 44-year history of the Oliphant Science Awards Trophy, a pair of South Australian siblings are the only family duo to both be crowned with this prestigious title.
Shanza and Shaya Ismail, 18-year-old and 15-year-old respectively, have both taken the trophy home to their family, with Shanza winning the trophy in 2025 for outstanding science content as a Year 12 student and Shaya winning it in 2023 for outstanding science content as a Year eight student.
The Oliphant Science Awards Trophy is the highest honour in South Australia’s largest annual school science competition, awarded to the overall winner of the competition.
The competition is open to students in Reception through to Year 12 and includes a range of categories to suit a wide variety of abilities and interests. Every year since 1981, this trophy has been presented to the participant with the most outstanding entry in this statewide science competition.
“I’m so happy and proud that we both had a chance to experience this achievement and
have our interest in science recognised at this level,” Shaya said.
Shaya’s entry for the competition was titled ‘VAMOS: Vehicular Autonomous Marine Observation
System’. VAMOS represents an innovative unmanned electric waterproof sea vehicle engineered
to transport sensors to the reef for the purpose of monitoring and observing marine life.
Since 2024, Shaya has been studying at Wilderness School, Medindie and is currently in year 11
and is interested in pursuing a career in research and innovation in the field of biotechnology and
engineering.
Shanza was presented with the trophy by patron Monica Oliphant.
Shanza’s entry was in the competition’s Scientific Inquiry category and was titled ‘Can heartbeat
pulses be used to estimate blood pressure?’
This scientific inquiry investigated the use of heart pulse data to predict blood pressure and explored efficacy of using heart pulse data for human identification. The models Shanza developed in this inquiry for human identification showed a high accuracy, proving that the Artificial Intelligence /Machine Learning (AI/ML) method for human identification is a viable option.
“To my fellow students who are as deeply interested in science as i am, trust that passionate curiosity is the greatest tool you possess,” Shanza said. “Never stop asking questions, never stop looking for answers.”
Currently Shanza is in her first year of studying towards a Bachelor of Biomedical and Health Sciences -majoring in Neuroscience degree at Adelaide University. She hopes to pursue a career in neuroscience research, once she’s completed her university studies.
Their acheivement certainly reflects their individual talents but also highlights the impact young South aussies are making in the science feild.
For more information about the trophy, visit the website.
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