This 16-Year-Old Bengaluru Student Won A Global Science Prize Worth ₹2.9 Crore

16-year-old Samay Godika from Bengaluru won the ₹2.9 crore Breakthrough Junior Challenge for a video he made on circadian rhythm, which is the physical, mental, and behavioural changes that follow a daily cycle.

Samay’s video focused on the 24-hour biological processes that can affect simple daily experiences such as waking up for school or jet lag. He became interested in the correlation between circadian rhythms and the effectiveness of medical treatments after seeing a family member suffer from Parkinson’s and other neurological diseases. He previously entered the prize in 2017, and featured as the only Indian semifinalist, with a video on a self-cleaning mechanism which could help fight dreaded diseases like cancer, Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s.

Breakthrough Junior Challenge is a global science video competition designed to inspire creative thinking about fundamental concepts. Students ages 13 to 18 from countries across the globe are invited to create and submit original videos that bring to life a concept or theory in the life sciences, physics or mathematics. The submissions are judged on the student’s ability to communicate complex scientific ideas in engaging, illuminating, and imaginative ways. It’s given alongside the Breakthrough Prize.

Students from all over the world submitted their videos with the global competition attracting more than 12,000 registrants. Godika will receive $400,000 in educational prizes for himself, his teacher and his school.

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