https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5gR_4wRQMJE American engineer and famous "mythbuster" Jamie Hyneman will visit Ukraine for the first time. Mr. Hyneman will join the panel of judges at the engineering startup competition, the Vernadsky Challenge. The Vernadsky Challenge has been held since 2015. The challenge, named after the prominent Ukrainian scientist Volodymyr Vernadsky, allows talented engineers and inventors to present their projects and compete for a 2-million UAH grant. Over the 3-year history of the Vernadsky Challenge, 576 startups have participated in the event and the winners have received a total of 3 million UAH in grant funding. Participating startups are not exclusively limited to Ukraine. At least 10% of all projects come from countries, such as the US, Israel, Belarus, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and India. Vernadsky Challenge 2017 has attracted applications from 230 startups. The challenge expert committee will examine each submission and select the top 10 startups that will present at the finals. The committee consists of 45 scholars from leading Ukrainian universities and 20 executives from companies that support Association Noosphere. At the finals, startups will present their projects to the panel of judges headed by competition founders Dmitry Sholomko, Google Ukraine director, and Noosphere Ventures founder Max Polyakov. The panel of judges for the competition will also include co-founder of Association Noosphere and head of the Vernadsky Challenge organizing committee, Michael Ryabokon; director of National Center of Control and Testing of Space Vehicles, Volodymyr Prysyazhnyy; founder and CEO of the design firm ARTKB, Alex Nesterenko; "Innovation & Capacity Building" program manager at the American Councils for International Education in Ukraine, Adrian Erlinger; physicist and popular blogger, Anton Senenko; and others. Jamie Hyneman will join the panel as well, and will evaluate the engineering innovativeness and commercial potential of each startup. Jamie’s overwhelming engineering experience, gained through years of working in the special effects industry and 15 seasons of mythbusting, will allow the panel to more accurately assess each project and choose a worthy winner. Leading up to the Vernadsky Challenge finals, on April 21 at 11:00 am, Jamie Hyneman and Michael Ryabokon will hold a press-conference at the Interfax Ukraine conference-hall in Kyiv at 8/5a Reitarska Street. The conference live stream will be available on the official Interfax Ukraine Youtube channel. The challenge finals will take place on April 22 at the National Aerospace Educational Center of Ukrainian Youth at 26 Haharina Avenue. The event schedule includes a Q&A session with competition experts and an autograph session with Jamie Hyneman. The event will start at 10:00 am. There will be free entry with advance registration http://vernadskychallenge.com/ Preliminary accreditation of journalists for the event finals is required. Accreditation requests can be sent in free form to [email protected] For additional information please contact: Association Noosphere Press Secretary Tetyana Snopko +38 (068) 111 14 14 [email protected] Vernadsky Challenge | vernadskychallenge.com The Vernadsky Challenge is an engineering startup competition that helps to turn ideas into reality. The Vernadsky Challenge is an open competition - everyone who has an innovative idea and the desire to implement it is welcome to apply. Whether a solo engineering-enthusiast or a team of developers, anyone can compete for the main prize, a 2-million UAH grant. Startups in the following fields are encouraged to participate in the Vernadsky Challenge: space technologies, alternative energetics, agroindustrial equipment, medical equipment, robotics, new materials in metallurgy and electronics, geological exploration, effective environmental management, military equipment, transport management, data processing, storage and transmission. Jamie Hyneman | m5industries.com Jamie Hyneman (James Franklin Hyneman) is an American special effects expert, co-host of the television series MythBusters alongside Adam Savage, and the owner of M5 Industries - the special effects workshop where MythBusters was filmed. Jamie Hyneman is also known among Robot Wars devotees for his robot entry, Blendo, which, for a time, was deemed too dangerous for entry in the competition. Association Noosphere | noosphereglobal.com Association Noosphere is a non-governmental, non-commercial organization established for scientific research and information provisioning. The mission of Association Noosphere is to facilitate knowledge discovery, use and sharing, and to increase scientific interest. Association Noosphere unites scientists and researchers in order to promote science and technology in the business environment on a global scale. Noosphere Ventures | noosphereventures.com Noosphere Ventures is an international asset management firm with the strategic vision and capital to transform high-potential companies into definitive market leaders. Headquartered in Menlo Park, USA, Noosphere Ventures has regional branches in 17 countries and has established a global community. The company has created a number of social initiatives, including educational events, conferences, workshops, and competitions in technical sports.