High School Freshman Earns $15,000 Scholarship at Third Annual Power of an Idea® Awards Ceremony

BOSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Soaking in raucous applause from more than 300 fellow students, a jubilant freshman from the John D. O’Bryant School of Math & Science in Roxbury on Thursday, May 8, claimed a $15,000 first-place prize in the Third Annual Power of an Idea® Scholarship Contest sponsored by Boston-based law firm Burns & Levinson LLP.

“What will I do with this money?” asked an exultant Bradford Mei, 16. “I’m going to put it toward MIT and I’m going to be an engineer and learn how to play music. And I’m telling every student here today to get involved with Power of an Idea.”

With those words, students gathered in the school’s auditorium chanted “Bradford! Bradford! Bradford!” as the Charlestown resident celebrated onstage.

Mei invented a so-called “sleep-alert wristband” that awakens individuals when their pulse reaches a certain rate. Judges lauded the invention for its usefulness to truckers, heavy equipment operators and others. Mei was one of 50 applicants in the contest; six students made it to the final judging round. Following the event, Mei displayed his prototype to well-wishers gathered around the stage.

With the first-place win, Mei earned a $15,000 scholarship to be used for tuition and expenses for higher education beyond high school and legal patent services from Burns & Levinson. Burns & Levinson recently filed a provisional patent on Mei’s behalf with the United States Patent and Trademark Office and will file a full patent application within one year.

Mei, beaming after the event as organizers took photos of him with attorneys, school officials, judges and his mother, Li Li Liao, urged his peers to dream. “Everyone has the potential to do great things,” said Mei. “Know no limits on how far you will go. We all have the power to achieve the American dream. I’m proud to be the winner of the Power of an Idea scholarship and I’d like to thank everyone who helped me.”

David P. Rosenblatt, managing partner for Burns & Levinson, noted that the law firm remains committed to supporting Boston public school students. “We wanted to make an investment in Boston and in the youth of Boston, particularly in the area of science and technology,” Rosenblatt told the assembly. “We also think it’s critical that a sense of creativity and scientific inquiry remain strong in Boston schools for years to come.”

Dr. W. Peter Hansen, one of the judges for the contest, encouraged the youngsters to follow their dreams. “If you keep your eyes a little above the horizon, there’s a world out there,” said Hansen, chief science officer for PointCare Technologies Inc. of Marlborough. “And your idea does not need to service Boston or even the state. With your creativity, you can go anywhere. Start thinking about the world because the world needs you.”

Marchelle Raynor, a member of the Boston School Committee who attended the event, lauded Mei’s efforts and noted that science and technology exploration continues to take place throughout the school system. “There is lots of enthusiasm in each of our schools in Boston so hopefully the energy created from an event like this can be incorporated into the overall student body,” said Raynor.

Students of Boston public high schools and charter schools (grades 9-12) were invited to participate in the scholarship contest. Initially 50 students throughout Boston filed applications to participate and 25 submitted final reports describing the details and the beneficial use of their inventions. Five finalists were selected with one joint entry totaling six students in the final competition.

Three Boston high school students—Aneisha Malcolm, Henry Lee and James Tse— received honorable mentions and were awarded trophies bearing their names, certificates of commendation from Boston Mayor Thomas M. Menino, and gift certificates to Boston’s Museum of Science. Two other students, Mei Hua Li and Ze Sheng Liang, were also recognized for being finalists and received certificates from the city and the law firm as well as a gift certificate to the science museum.

Judges for the contest were Jacob N. Erlich, a partner at Burns & Levinson; Dr.Yakov Korkhin, patent agent for Burns & Levinson; Dr. Kollol Pal, CEO of Rishi Pharmaceuticals; and Dr. Hansen.

About Burns & Levinson

Burns & Levinson, with 125 attorneys in four offices in New England, is a full-service Boston-based law firm. The firm has grown steadily and strategically throughout the years and has become a premier law firm with regional, national and international clientele. The firm has expertise in corporate law, finance, venture capital, private equity, tax, bankruptcy, lending and leasing, real estate, business litigation, intellectual property - including patent law, and a large private clients group – including estate planning, probate and trust litigation, divorce and other family law issues. In addition, the firm has a wholly-owned subsidiary office in Montreal, Quebec, to service its Canadian clients. For more information, visit Burns & Levinson at www.burnslev.com.

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