Ben Kornfeld's Fundraising Page

International Young Physicists' Tournament

Thanks for visiting my fundraising page.

I'll do all the hard work; train for and compete in this event, but I really need your help to make a difference to my charity.

Please could you sponsor me?

Select the "Make a donation" button below. It's simple, fast and totally secure and every single cent you donate goes directly to the trust account of the charity I am supporting.

If you live in New Zealand your donation is tax deductible and a receipt will be issued.

Many thanks for your support.

My chosen charity is the George Parkyn Centre for Gifted Education. I was always particularly interested in the sciences, interests which set me apart from my classmates in primary school. In year 6, I attended ODS (One Day School) in Grey Lynn and was fortunate enough to have Kate Niederer for the maths-sciences modules. Since that time my interest in the sciences has grown exponentially. ODS and GPC (The George Parkyn Centre for Gifted Education - http://www.georgeparkyncentre.org) made a critical difference in my willingness to be known and acknowledged for my intellectual interests.
This year (6th form—year 12) my physics class has learned about the International Young Physicists Tournament, to be held in Seoul, South Korea. My school team won the New Zealand competition (www.iypt.org.nz) and I was selected to represent New Zealand in the World Championships in Seoul - the World Cup of Physics!!
(There is more information at http://www.iypt.org about 'Physics Fights')
The competition involves describing a physical phenomenon set forth by the judges, explaining theoretically why it occurs and demonstrating the theory through practical experimentation.

I had to present one problem to make the King's College finals, a second to make the team, a third to present at the national tournament, which Kings won, and one more to make the New Zealand team to go to Seoul. Following are the topics which for which I wrote Microsoft Powerpoint slide shows, accompanied by 12-15 minute verbal presentations:

1. 'Why does a light bulb go bright when it first goes on, then dim to a constant brightness?'
2. 'Describe the motion of a blowpipe pellet as it exits a pipe when blown by mouth. How does the mass of the pellet and length of the pipe affect the velocity and penetrative power of the pellet?'
3. 'Design a system to help stabilize a building during earthquakes'
4. 'What is the minimum speed a waterski must be going in order for it to hydroplane on top of the water?'
5. A new and as yet undetermined project will be developed for the Korean tournament, as well as refinement of problems 3 and 4.

Copies of these Powerpoint presentations (about 15-20 slides each) are available to supporters of GPC on CD (the files are too big to be emailed) if you make a donation here of $50 or more - after you have made your donation email fundraising@georgeparkyncentre.org with your delivery details (for security and logistical reasons these will not be posted until the tournament is finished -after 13 July).

Thanks for your support!