"I always thought of myself as a scientist by day, dancer by night."
Vinokur at his lab bench at the Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center
Jeffrey Vinokur, 22 years old, was born in River Vale, NJ and unofficially self-diagnosed with a rare condition called “Mad Scientist Syndrome.” He claims this is the reason for his passion for science since birth.
Science has always been Vinokur’s passion starting from catch bugs as a kid, to mixing kitchen chemicals during middle school, building robots in high school, studying the production of biofuels as a college freshman, and finally doing cancer research with the University of Wisconsin-Madison Chemistry Department. Jeffrey is so crazy about science he received a Biochemistry textbook for his 18th birthday and an embroidered lab coat for his 19th birthday. He is currently pursing a Biochemistry PhD at the University of California - Los Angeles (UCLA) and hopes to become a renowned research professor while continuing to share his passion for science with the public.
In 2007, Jeffrey found dance when hard times at home lead him to watch YouTube videos and learn a few dance moves to relieve stress. The dancing caught on and Jeffrey began practicing daily in his house, dancing to express himself. Five years later he now has over 15 million YouTube views, the #1 most watched popping tutorials in the world, teaches his own classes, runs a dance crew, performs regularly on the college circuit, released his own instructional DVDs, and gives scholarships to hip hop dancers pursuing college degrees!
Prior to January 2010, Jeffrey was “Scientist by day, and dancer by night” until an airplane ride next to a talkative stranger helped him realize that he could spread his scientific message by combining science & dance into a high energy performance. Jeff premiered as the Dancing Scientist on Season 5 of NBC's hit TV show America's Got Talent where he advanced to the Top 100 acts in Las Vegas out of 70,000 nationwide auditions. Since the show, Jeff appeared monthly on the CBS News in Madison, WI and has also been on FOX and CW News in Saint Louis, CBS News in Milwaukee, the Big Ten Network, and most recently appeared in five episodes of Discovery Channel Canada's primetime science show, Daily Planet. Recent stage performances include the USA Science & Engineering Festival, World Science Festival, and 10 sold out shows at the Smithsonian Discovery Theater!
Jeffrey continues to spread his message that science can be cool and fun through his "So You Think You Can Do Science" performance while also continuing lab research. The show has toured three times with over 120 presentations from San Francisco to Baltimore. While Vinokur will be focusing on his UCLA biofuel research in 2013, he looks forward to bringing the presentation to a school, science center, or TV channel near you.
Science has always been Vinokur’s passion starting from catch bugs as a kid, to mixing kitchen chemicals during middle school, building robots in high school, studying the production of biofuels as a college freshman, and finally doing cancer research with the University of Wisconsin-Madison Chemistry Department. Jeffrey is so crazy about science he received a Biochemistry textbook for his 18th birthday and an embroidered lab coat for his 19th birthday. He is currently pursing a Biochemistry PhD at the University of California - Los Angeles (UCLA) and hopes to become a renowned research professor while continuing to share his passion for science with the public.
In 2007, Jeffrey found dance when hard times at home lead him to watch YouTube videos and learn a few dance moves to relieve stress. The dancing caught on and Jeffrey began practicing daily in his house, dancing to express himself. Five years later he now has over 15 million YouTube views, the #1 most watched popping tutorials in the world, teaches his own classes, runs a dance crew, performs regularly on the college circuit, released his own instructional DVDs, and gives scholarships to hip hop dancers pursuing college degrees!
Prior to January 2010, Jeffrey was “Scientist by day, and dancer by night” until an airplane ride next to a talkative stranger helped him realize that he could spread his scientific message by combining science & dance into a high energy performance. Jeff premiered as the Dancing Scientist on Season 5 of NBC's hit TV show America's Got Talent where he advanced to the Top 100 acts in Las Vegas out of 70,000 nationwide auditions. Since the show, Jeff appeared monthly on the CBS News in Madison, WI and has also been on FOX and CW News in Saint Louis, CBS News in Milwaukee, the Big Ten Network, and most recently appeared in five episodes of Discovery Channel Canada's primetime science show, Daily Planet. Recent stage performances include the USA Science & Engineering Festival, World Science Festival, and 10 sold out shows at the Smithsonian Discovery Theater!
Jeffrey continues to spread his message that science can be cool and fun through his "So You Think You Can Do Science" performance while also continuing lab research. The show has toured three times with over 120 presentations from San Francisco to Baltimore. While Vinokur will be focusing on his UCLA biofuel research in 2013, he looks forward to bringing the presentation to a school, science center, or TV channel near you.
