Search form

Back to Blog

High Schooler Sets Physics World Abuzz

issac newtonA 16-year-old German high school student has written a paper that purports to have solved two mysteries that were beyond the intellect of the great Isaac Newton.

Shouryya Ray, an Indian-born student who won second prize this month in the math and informatics category for Germany's Jugend Forscht student science competition created formulas to answer the following questions that have puzzled scientists for centuries:

How do you account for air resistance in calculating the trajectory of ball thrown out at an angle?

Precisely how does a ball thrown against the wall rebound?

Because Ray's paper was a school-based project and was submitted for a contest, it is not subject to the publication process and peer review that professional work typically goes through. That has led some experts in the field to reserve jugement of the work until they've seen it for themselves.

However, everyone who has commented about Ray's paper has said it is an achievement that very few high schoolers could duplicate.

More

The Global Search for Education: What...

“New sets of skills such as team work, innovation and creativity are becoming increasingly important. The leaders of this major transformation can only be the principals and the teachers themselves, but principals need to be able to show the way in this uncertain world.”  — Montserrat...

The International Day of Peace is...

Children are certainly not seeing the world demonstrating the concept of peace. Is there really anything we can do to foster the concept when our news continually shows just the opposite?

The International Day of Peace is held every year on  September 21st. Also called Peace Day, the first celebration was adopted by the United Nations in 1982. In 2001, nations of the world established September 21st as International Day of Peace. In 2016, the theme for the...

"I, too, am America" -...

A new eight-story museum on the National Mall opens on September 24th and it was 100 years in the making. Called the National Museum of African American History and Culture, the museum was first discussed back in 1915, when African American Civil War veterans called for a museum to highlight the accomplishments of African Americans.

Congress established such a museum, to be part of the Smithsonian Institution, in 2003. Groundbreaking for the National Museum...

The Global Search for Education: Just...

“I will use my office as a ‘bully pulpit’: to describe what should happen in our educational systems; to call attention to positive as well as negative examples; to cheerlead for promising initiatives; and, whenever possible, to demonstrate by example the kind of education...

National Hispanic Heritage Month is...

National Hispanic Heritage Month is celebrated each year from September 15th–October 15th. It was originally established, in 1968, as Hispanic Heritage Week, by President Lyndon Johnson. In 1988, it became a month-long celebration. Some people question the need for an Hispanic Heritage Month, Black History Month, Women’s History Month, Native American Heritage Month, and other such months that recognize the achievements of groups which have helped to make this nation great. I believe we do...

The Global Search for Education:...

The changes in immigration are dramatically impacting our global communities and our classrooms, which are becoming more diverse and multicultural.

Our Global Teacher Bloggers are pioneers and innovators in fields such as technology integration, mathematics coaching, special needs education, science...

The Global Search for Education: WHAT...

“We are taking the trends identified by futurists and economists, and connecting them to relevant fields of study and competencies required.”  —  Charles Fadel

Employers complain that graduates are not ready for work. Students...

New School Year: Teaching A-Z

With the new year about to begin, I’d like to share my A–Z Teaching List. If you have suggestions, please share.

A–Z Teaching List

  1. Always exhibit an interest in what you are teaching. If you think it’s important, your students will, too. Have an assessment for how to grade your students.
  2. Be prepared with your lesson. Have “bell ringers" to keep students on task when you are...

The Global Search for Education:...

The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development calls on countries to begin efforts to achieve the 17 SDGs over the next 15 years. The goals address the needs of people in both developed and developing countries, emphasizing that no one should be left behind.

The changes in immigration...

National Aviation Day is August 19th:...

 

National Aviation Day is August 19th: All About Flying

 

National Aviation Day was established by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1939, on the birthday of...

Pages