Science is
sometimes formed by passionate young people that want to make their mark.
Maryam Tsegaye (age 17) surely falls within this category, winning the annual
Breakthrough Junior Challenge for her videotape of quantum tunneling.
Breaking
down a complex quantum mechanics matter into a short video, Tsegaye describes
how quantum tunneling affects the world as we know it.
Tsegaye's
prize-winning video. Credit: Breakthrough
The
Breakthrough Junior Challenge is a global contest for students aged 13-18 years
old to make a video less than 3 minutes long that “brings to life an idea or
theory in the life sciences, physics or mathematics.”
Tsegaye
won a $250,000 college scholarship, $50,000 for her science teacher that encouraged
her love for physics, and a $100,000 laboratory for her high school.
“Winning
the Breakthrough Junior Challenge is a life-changing moment for me, and opens
so many new prospects that nothing will be the same from now on,” Tsegaye said
in a press release. “I am so proud to be a part of the Breakthrough Junior
Challenge community, and to win this for my school, my teachers, my family, the
city, and the country.”
It's no
easy achievement to explain quantum tunneling, a process in which a particle
can penetrate through an energy barricade so long as it is higher in energy
than the particle’s own kinetic energy. Quite the mouthful.
To emphasize
the topic, Tsegaye used clever simulations and analogies of day-to-day life to describe
complex subatomic particles and the states they exist in.
“Through
the years, I’ve been motivated by the high quality of the Breakthrough Junior
Challenge, and this year was no exception,” said Scott Kelly, retired NASA
astronaut and Breakthrough Junior Challenge judge, told in a statement.
“Maryam’s
video is a chief example of how to expertly simplify a compound idea, and she
provided an amazing explanation of quantum tunneling. Congratulations to
Maryam, her teacher, her school, and all the students who will benefit from the
new lab.”
Congratulations
to Tsegaye, her teacher, and her school for the inspiring work.
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