Google Science Fair 2013 Launches, Seeks World Changers
Google has announced its Google Science Fair 2013, the third one it has held. The event is in partnership with some big names, including National Geographic, Scientific America, and LEGO Group. The science fair aims to find the next batch of world-changing individuals and their ideas, citing past world changers like Ada Lovelace and Alexander Graham Bell. It is open to participants ages 13 to 18.
According to Google, the last two events garnered submissions from over 90 countries, with entries targeting all sorts of world problems ranging from ecosystem water cataloging to providing a better music listening experience for those with hearing problems. Such issues are sure to be the substance of submissions this year as well.
Those who want to participate who are in the accepted age range have until April 30 at 11:59 PDT to get their submission in. A total of 13 languages for project submissions are supported: Brazilian Portuguese, Russian, Korean, Chinese, Japanese, Arabic, French, Spanish, Italian, German, English, Hebrew, and Polish.
A variety of awards will be issued, with the winner receiving a $50k Google scholarship, a National Geographic trip to Galapagos, and "experiences" with either Google, LEGO, or CERN. The winner's school will get digital access to Scientific America's archives, as well as a $10,000 grant for their school and G+ Hangout with CERN. In addition, one project will get a $50k Science in Action prize from Scientific America for making a "practical difference" in a health, social, or environment issue.
A total of 90 finalists will be chosen in June, being split 30/30/30 from the Americas, Asia Pacific, and Europe/the Middle East/Africa. Of those finalists, a total of 15 will be sent to Google HQ in Mountain View for their live event in September. The 15 finalists will be evaluated by a panel of judges, and one winner will be selected in each age group, with one winner being the top-of-the-top Grand Prize recipient.
[via Google's Official Blog]