BASIS Charters Earn Brain Bee Buzz

In fact, 17 of the top 20 finishers in the competition on February 3, 2016, were from BASIS charter schools.

The Brain Bee is a tournament quite like a spelling bee — though focusing on neuroscience, instead of orthography.

Thirteen BASIS Chandler students reached the final stage of the competition at Midwestern University’s Glendale, Arizona campus on February 3, 2016. Questions focused on the human brain, how it controls human behavior, its anatomy, physiology, biochemistry, and molecular biology, and the science of learning.

The final lasted an event-record 29 rounds — with BASIS Chandler students Vijeeth Guggilla, Irene Zhang, and Rohini Nott, finishing in the top three spots. BASIS Chandler also won the team prize for the overall high score.

Vectors editors were told that all participants received commemorative Brain Bee pins as well as brain-shaped erasers — not that any of the BASIS students involved have ever used an eraser, or ever will.

Vijeeth will compete in the National Brain Bee in Baltimore, Maryland. By virtue of his top placement in the Regional, he won travel expenses to nationals, as well as a $2,000 scholarship.

During the Regional, faculty and students from Midwestern University served as judges, question readers, timers, and scorekeepers.

The competition uses a book called Brain Facts published by the Society for Neuroscience as its source text, with questions as varied as identifying physical features of the brain, to naming brain disorders and diseases, to surgical and medical practices that modify neural behaviors.

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Phil Handler

Director of Communications, and Managing Editor, Vectors at BASIS.ed

Phil Handler grew up in Chicago, where he was a lawyer and also worked in politics, professional football, and newspaper, TV, and radio journalism. He also worked in San Francisco for eight years as a radio journalist and producer. Phil earned his BA via a double major in expository and fiction writing, and speech communication, as well as a JD in law, both from the University of Illinois - Urbana-Champaign. Phil enjoys reading fiction, science and history, and coffee-sipping while dog-walking or movie-watching.

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