What is the Berkeley 100 challenge?
This Berkeley 100 is a global science competition designed to accelerate discovery by focusing the world’s leading minds on 100 well-defined, high-impact problems across ten scientific disciplines.
Each challenge is a structured invitation to push the boundaries of knowledge through solution-driven research.
Each challenge is built around four core components:
Problem Statement: A crisp articulation of a fundamental scientific question.
Criteria for Solution: Defined standards for what constitutes a successful, peer-recognized breakthrough.
Feasibility: A realistic timeline for resolution, ranging from near-term progress to long-term ambition (2 to 30 years).
Significance: The scientific and societal relevance of solving the problem, including its potential to advance the field of study.
The 10 scientific disciplines
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Mathematics & Applied Mathematics
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Computation & AI
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Physics & Applied Physics
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Astronomy, Astrophysics & Cosmology
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Earth, Space & Ocean Sciences
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Neuroscience & Brain Science
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Chemistry & Chemical Engineering
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Biology & Biochemistry
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Medicine & Health Sciences
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Material Sciences, Technology & Engineering
How It works
Berkeley 100 follows a focused process to identify and launch the world’s most important scientific challenges.
Expert-Led Discovery (2025–2026): hosting of global workshops and forming of expert committees across 10 scientific disciplines to define the top 100 challenges.
Public Launch (Late 2026): The final list of challenges will be released globally, inviting the research community to engage.
Ongoing Participation: Potential solutions to the challenges evaluated by our expert committees. Prize awards and research grants awarded.
Get involved
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