Burlingame Teen's Stellar Video Ranks As Global Finalist

BURLINGAME, CA — A Burlingame teenager, 17-year-old Jeffery Chen, is one of three teens from the San Francisco Bay Area and among only 15 worldwide, named as finalists in the Breakthrough Junior Challenge, a global competition that allows students from around the world to submit creative, short videos about their "big ideas" in science or math

Jeffery took on the heavens with his "Neutrino Astronomy: A New Frontier" video submission. >>>SEE HIS VIDEO HERE<<<

Beating out more than 11,000 entrants, Jeffrey, and the other contest finalists, including one from Dublin and another from Santa Clara, could win a $250,000 college scholarship, $50,000 for the student's science teacher and a state-of-the-art science lab valued at $100,000 for the winner's school.

In its fifth year, the Breakthrough Junior Challenge's mission is to nurture, develop and inspire students, from 13 to 18 years old, in the field of science and STEM careers, along with showcasing to the general public the young contenders' passion for life sciences, physics and mathematics, organizers said. This year's winner will be announced Nov. 3.

Challenge finalists, along with Jeffrey, include: Calvin Bradbury-Jost, 18 (Canada); Brooklyn Clark, 18 (Santa Clara, CA - United States); Jared Gracia-David, 18 (United States); Krisha Jivani, 17 (United States); Aditya Joshi, 17 (India); Chris Lakin, 17 (United States); Branko Malaver-Vojvodic, 18 (Peru); Rhea Mitr, 16 (Dublin, CA - United States); HP Park, 17 (Republic of Korea); Larson Rivera, 18 (United States); Ian Shen-Costello, 18 (United States); Shruti Siva, 15 (United States); Mandy Tran, 17 (United States); Venkata Hasith Vattikuti, 15 (United States); and Aria Vikram, 15 (India).

Competition judges include: Salman Khan, CEO/founder, Khan Academy; author and educator Lucy Hawking; Mae Jemison, science literacy expert, former astronaut, and principal, 100 Year Starship; retired NASA Astronaut Scott Kelly; Ian Agol, professor of mathematics, University of California, Berkeley and Breakthrough Prize in Mathematics laureate; Rachel Crane, space and science correspondent, CNN; Huda Zoghbi, professor of pediatrics and professor of neuroscience and molecular and human genetics, Baylor College of Medicine and Breakthrough Prize in Life Sciences laureate; Ijad Madisch, CEO, co-founder, ResearchGate; Pete Worden, chairman, Breakthrough Prize Foundation, executive director, Breakthrough Initiatives; Esther Wojcicki, founder, Palo Alto High Media Arts Center; and Terence Tao, professor of mathematics, UCLA and Breakthrough Prize in Mathematics laureate.

For more information on the Breakthrough Junior Challenge, follow this link.

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