Leyte student wins Global Science Competition
The future of the Philippines in Science and Technology looks bright with a student like Hillary Diane Andales at the helm.
Besting 11,000 young learners from 178 countries, Andales from the Philippine Science High School (PSHS) Eastern Visayas Campus in Palo, Leyte bagged the third annual Breakthrough Junior Challenge (BJC) Prize.
The Breakthrough Junior Challenge is a worldwide science video competition where the fundamental concepts in the life sciences, physics, and mathematics are explained by students between 13 and 18 years old.
Andales made a video about Relativity and Equivalence of Reference Frames. She personally received the award on December 3 at the NASA’s Ames Research Center in California.
As the grand prize winner, Andales received a post-secondary scholarship worth USD250,000, a USD50,000 prize for her science teacher Xavier Francis de los Reyes, and a Breakthrough Science Lab for her school worth USD100,000, which is designed in partnership with Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory.
The prize total is USD400,000 or PHP20.27 million.
Andales didn’t make it as the Top Scorer in the online competition when it kicked off last Sept. 1, 2017. But she still made it to the finals as Asia’s regional representative, and the rest is history.
This was actually her second time in the competition. She made a video presentation on Feynman’s Path Integrals last year. Her entry got more than 300,000 views and won the Top Popular Vote.
Andales is also a recipient of Mga Bagong Rizal 2017: Pag-asa ng Bayan, which will be awarded on Rizal Day, December 30. The award aims to recognize young people who have leadership potential, high academic standing, and are also involve in their respective communities.
In her Facebook message, Andales wrote “I’ve always looked up to two kind of stars, those who shine at night, enchanting my mind about the universe, and those that shine before me now- these amazing scientists inspiring me with their genius and tenacity to pursue the truth.”
PSHS EV Director, Rey Garnace, said on Wednesday that he’s euphoric but not surprised with Andales’ victory.
“Andales has been our school pride. She has imbibed the vision of the school to have a passion for excellence, pursuit for truth, and service to the nation.”
He also added that super typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan) has pushed the scholars to be more resilient and inspired.
The Philippine Science High School (PSHS) Eastern Visayas Campus is no stranger to the international arena. It has been producing winners since 2015 being the champion in ASEAN + 3 Junior Science Odyssey, World Champion in Robotics in 2016, and BJC Grand Prize 2017.
The Breakthrough Junior Challenge is funded by Mark Zuckerberg, Priscilla Chan, and Yuri and Julia Milner through the Breakthrough Prize Foundation. Four criteria were used to evaluate the videos: Creativity, Difficulty, Engagement, and Illumination. The entrants must also display skills in science communication by simplifying complex ideas.
via Philippine News Agency / Vicky Arnaiz
