Calling All Students Ages 13-18 Years Old to Participate in Global Science and Math Video Contest - Seite 2

Last year's winning submission was from 18-year-old Ryan Chester, of North Royalton High School, Ohio. Ryan's video, titled "Some Cool Ways to Understand the Special Theory of Relativity and What It Means About Time," explored Albert Einstein's theory of special relativity and was noted by judges for its wit, clarity and creativity. The video had global appeal, and received close to four million online views. In September, Ryan will enroll at Harvard University.

"Winning the Breakthrough Junior Challenge changed my life, especially by opening up options for college. Originally, I was going to go to a state school in Ohio. That was the most affordable option. After winning the Challenge, any college became affordable. Now I am going to Harvard, which before I had never even considered," said Chester. "My advice to current participants would be to definitely do your research. Make sure you understand the topic better than you need to. And add any kind of humor."

In 2015, the competition received more than 2,000 qualified applications from a total of 86 countries, including the United States, India, Mexico, Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, China, Japan, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Brazil, Thailand, Turkey, Vietnam, Norway, France, Israel, and Peru.

"The Breakthrough Junior Challenge is unlike any other student competition in the world, and the overwhelmingly positive responses demonstrated during its inaugural year prove just that," said Breakthrough Junior Challenge judge, author and educator Lucy Hawking. "More than 2,000 students submitted truly unique and thoughtful videos, and I cannot wait to see what the next class comes up with. I am so delighted to see the progress of last year's winner, Ryan Chester, and am very excited to see what this year's entrants produce. I'm honored to once again join the judging panel."

This year's Breakthrough Junior Challenge winner will be recognized at the Breakthrough Prize awards ceremony in Silicon Valley. The winning student and his or her teacher will be announced and the first-place film will be presented during a nationally televised show, details of which will be announced at a later date.

"When students are challenged to create videos that make important scientific and mathematical concepts clear, relevant and engaging to the general public, science overall becomes more accessible to everyone. And this helps demystify the notions around who can and should be "doing science," said Dr. Mae Jemison, science literacy expert, former astronaut, and Principal, 100 Year Starship, an independent global initiative to ensure that the capabilities for human travel beyond our solar system to another star, exist within the next 100 years. "I am particularly excited to be a judge for the Breakthrough Junior Challenge since accessibility, inclusion and demystification of the sciences are fundamental to my longstanding commitment to improving science education and literacy."