Norbert is a second-year UBC student who had recently graduated from the Science One program on the Dean’s honours list and as a science scholar. During his journey through Science One, Norbert created an innovative method to make paper hydrophobic through cellulose surface modification as an application to paper straws and paper tableware that is now published in UBC cIRcle and a peer-reviewed journal. He currently studies honors computer science and medical genetics while pursuing a minor in statistics.

At the age of 13, Norbert had discovered a passion for cooking through Chef Vanessa Lee, a professor at VCC, who created a culinary arts program from scratch at his high school. After noticing his passion, Chef Lee recommended Norbert to Dr. Gregs Superchefs, a non-profit organization that aims to make “at-risk” youth food-literate and competent in their food skills, where Norbert has been involved for the last 4 years. Norbert firmly believes that a major deterrent of children from STEM is the illusion that STEM is something that must be done in a lab with hard to find materials. By combining his love for food and passion for STEM, Norbert created Flavourful Science, hoping to become a mentor to children, inspire interest and curiosity in youth about topics of STEM through the art of cooking, and to show that STEM is not something that must be foreign. Norbert also hopes to influence youth to explore their creativity through innovation and think about creating a more sustainable future!