Nantha Sedtinwong (Annie) and Thanita Sedtinwong (Winnie), sixth-form students from Concord College, United Kingdom, have brought international recognition to Thailand by winning Gold Medals at The World Invention Creativity Olympics (Korea WICO 2026), held in the Republic of Korea and organised by the Korea University Intellectual Property Association.
The competition is an international platform for inventions and innovations, attracting more than 1,200 participants from 26 countries. While most entries were presented by teams of four to five members, Annie and Winnie competed individually and each earned a Gold Medal for their own research project.
Winnie presented her research entitled "Upcycling of Filter Cake to Biochar for Improving the Mechanical Properties of Cement Mortar." The project focuses on converting agricultural waste into biochar for use in cement mortar, improving its mechanical performance while adding value to agricultural by-products and promoting sustainable resource utilisation.
Annie presented her research entitled "Improving Photo-Fenton Rhodamine B Degradation Using Iron Mill Scale/Graphitic Carbon Nitride Composite." The study explores the use of steel industry by-products to develop an environmentally friendly material for the removal of water pollutants.
Both projects were developed over more than one year under the supervision of Dr Chitiphon Chuaicham, Department of Environmental and Sustainable Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Chulalongkorn University.
In addition to winning a Gold Medal, Annie's research has been published in the Journal of Industrial and Engineering Chemistry, an internationally recognised journal in the field of engineering. The journal is ranked in the Q1 category, representing the highest quartile of academic journals in its discipline. Having research published in a Q1 journal is a remarkable achievement, particularly for a secondary school student.
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