Breakthrough Junior Challenge Winners From Around the Globe

Yuri Milner’s initiative, the Breakthrough Junior Challenge, is not just for genius young minds but for any young people who have a passion or interest in science.  Young minds excited by the idea of making contributions to the world of science are welcome to share their talent through the global video competition organized by Yuri and his wife to contribute to the Giving Pledge.

The Breakthrough Junior Challenge Overview

Taking part in the challenge organized and funded by Yuri Milner is easier than ever for children worldwide. All they have to do is create a  1 minute video demonstrating big idea or theories in life sciences, physics, or mathematics.

Then, the submissions are reviewed and judged by intelligent minds to pick out the best fit and most deserving candidate for the Breakthrough Junior Challenge prizes, which include a $250,000 scholarship and $50,000 as a gift for the teacher who inspired the winning candidate to make their contribution.

The prize also includes a $100.000 gift for their school’s new science lab in hopes of continuing to motivate young minds to use their intelligence for making new scientific discoveries.

Children can easily enter as a candidate by signing up on their official website and submitting a creative video demonstrating their scientific idea or concept.

Which Regions Are Included?

The Julia and Yuri Milner Breakthrough Junior Challenge announces champions yearly and includes children from the following regions.

  • Asia
  • Central and South America
  • North America
  • Europe
  • Australia
  • New Zealand
  • Middle East
  • Africa

Video Criteria Of The Breakthrough Junior Challenge

The idea that is demonstrated in the video must be related to life sciences, physics, and mathematics.

The film created by the participants can be anything, including but not limited to, animations, documentaries, dramatic reconstruction, etc.

The video must be a dynamic visual medium; hence, diagrams, illustrations, simulations, and physical demonstrations are all required.

Some Of The Best Videos By Regional Champions

BOLTZMANN’S ENTROPY & ARROW OF TIME

Aditya Joshi, 17, India

Aditya explains the passage of time and the phenomena of entropy. Time cannot be reversed or move in a backward direction because of the impossibility of unscrambling everything.

ENTROPY AND SPONTANEITY!

Taegan Charles, 17, Australia

Taegen demonstrated that reactions are always spontaneous, and any spontaneous process increases the universe’s disorder. This helps explain why reactions like ice melting always move forward without any external support.

QUANTUM LEVITATION

Krisha Jivani, 17, United States

Krisha explained how most of the energy in transmission wires is lost due to molecular vibrations and how the discovery of a superconductor may solve our problem of losing energy every time it’s transmitted through the wires.

THE QUARK THEORY OF HADRONS

Ishaan Vohra, 13, UK

Ishaan explained how protons and neutrons aren’t the smallest particles; he further broke down Murray Gell-Mann’s theory about quarks and explained the neutral charge on a neutron.

NEUTRINO ASTRONOMY: A NEW FRONTIER

Jeffery Chen, 17, United States

Jeffery showed the working properties of a neutrino or the ghost particle that engages with the weakest force to travel; the force of gravity. He explained how the existence of neutrinos helped discover the origin of cosmic modes and what it could mean for the world of science.

About Yuri Milner

Yuri Milner is a technology investor and philanthropist. He founded the investment company DST Global. He and his wife Julia joined the Giving Pledge in 2012 and initiated the Breakthrough Junior Challenge in 2015. Yuri Milner has also penned many of his ideas about space exploration in the book ‘Eureka Manifesto’.

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