A student at UC San Diego is biking along the California Pacific Coast from San Diego to San Francisco to send the message that science matters.
Kellman is a fourth-year Ph.D. student in Bioinformatics and Systems Biology in the Department of Bioengineering, according to UCSD.
Starting in San Diego, Benjamin Kellman has pledged to head north, riding one mile on his bike for every $5 donation. His group of bikers is taking off from UCSD Friday and heading to Buccaneers in Oceanside for their first stop.
In the past few months, Kellman has raised more than $5,000 on his GoFundMe page to donate to the organization in support of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS).
Part of his goal is to, "Get academics the representation we need to be heard, pressure our representatives to rely on facts and reason in their decision making," according to his GoFundMe page.
His GoFundMe page estimates that they will raise about $500 for the 100 mile trip to LA, then $1,000 for 200 miles to Santa Barbara, $3,500 for the 800 miles to San Francisco and possibly even $10,000 for 2,000 miles to Seattle.
Kellman works on important research for the early identification of autism, according to AAAS. He has wondered about the impact of the new administration on the future of science.
Local
Even the GoFundMe website donated $1,000 to his cause, after he was highlighted by AAAS.
You can check out the progress of Kellman's biking adventure on a live tracker.
