The following were the finalists in the 2011 Young Persons' World Lecture Competition held in Sao Paulo, Brazil, on 29 September.

Follow the links to find out more about each of the finalists

• Lindsay McManus, University of Ulster, Ireland finalist: 'Characterisation of the osteogenic differentiation of human mesenchymal stem cells using Raman spectroscopy'
• Jenni Tilley, University of Oxford, UK finalist: 'Faster, higher, stronger: hero materials of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games' 3rd place
• Mitali Kakran, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore finalist: 'Graphene - the new wonder material!' Winner
• Elisa Guzman Teipel, Whole Tree Inc and Baylor University, SPE finalist: 'Polymeric composites reinforced with natural fillers from agricultural waste: WTI CSP technology'
• Tom Bush, Ove Arup & Partners Hong Kong Ltd, Hong Kong finalist: 'Enhanced use of underground space in Hong Kong'
• Dyllon Randall, University of Cape Town, South Africa finalist: 'Pass the salt - recovery of water and salts from mining brines using eutectic freeze crystallization' 2nd place
• Muhammad Ghaddafy Bin Affendy, University Sains Malaysia, Malaysia finalist: 'Polymer zinc-air batteries - energizing a sustainable world'
• Gustavo Henrique Bolognesi Donato, FEI University Centre, Brazil finalist: 'Relevance of constraint-designed specimens for the accurate assessment of materials' fatigue and fracture resistance'
• Charles Fisher, University of Florida, Florida finalist: 'Design of smart metal-matrix composites for sustainability and advanced performance'