Contact: Michael Bernstein 20 high school students reach finals for US International Chemistry Olympiad teamTwenty of the nation’s top high school chemistry students, representing 14 states, will compete for a spot on the U.S. team in the 40th annual International Chemistry Olympiad in Budapest, Hungary, July 12-21, 2008. Fifteen boys and five girls, chosen from a pool of more than 11,000 high school students nationwide, will spend June 1-15 preparing at a study camp at the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado. During the camp, the students will receive college-level training, with an emphasis on organic chemistry, through a series of lectures, problem-solving exercises, lab work and testing. At the conclusion, a four-member U.S. team will be named to participate in the international contest with teams from more than 65 other countries. Each country sends four contestants and two coaches to the host country for seven to 10 days of exams, lectures, recreation and tours. Sponsored by the American Chemical Society (ACS), the world’s largest scientific society, the U.S. team has been a strong competitor at the international event. The 2007 U.S. team won three silver medals and one bronze. In 1999 and 2000, a member of the American team won the top gold medal at the Olympiad. “We in the ACS are delighted to see such a wide cross-section of states represented by our bright young Chemistry Olympiad team candidates,” said ACS President Bruce E. Bursten, Ph.D., who is also dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. “Chemical education, and particularly K-12 science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education, have been a top priority of ACS during my time as ACS president. In many ways, the fate of U.S. global competitiveness in science depends on our ability to engage students in the wonder of chemistry and other subjects, to excite them about their career paths, and to develop the next generation of researchers. The Chemistry Olympiad program continues to be a wonderful vehicle to stimulate interest in science among thousands of students across our nation.” “The students who have been selected to be members of the 2008 U.S. Team are among the top chemistry students in the country,” said Head Mentor Kara Pezzi, a chemistry teacher at Appleton East High School, Appleton, Wis. “They are a good mix of students who have been involved with the U.S. team and those who have not, and I’m sure they will work together to ensure that the traveling team that represents the United States at the International Chemistry Olympiad is of the highest caliber.” The International Chemistry Olympiad originated with Czechoslovakia, Poland and Hungary in 1968. Soon, other Eastern European countries joined the event, and Western Europe began participating in 1974. The first U.S. team competed in 1984, winning one silver and two bronze medals. The American Chemical Society has sponsored the American team annually since the United States joined the Olympiad. Principal funding is through the Society’s Othmer Olympiad Endowment, with additional support from the U.S. Air Force Academy; IBM Research; Merck Publishing Group; Texas Instruments, Inc.; W.H. Freeman & Company; McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.; Advanced Chemistry Development; Cengage Learning (formerly Thomson Learning); Pearson Prentice Hall; Flinn Scientific Inc.; Carolina Biological Supply Company; Sigma Chemical Company; and Fisher Scientific. The 20 U.S. finalists who will participate in this year’s study camp and compete for positions on the Olympiad team are:
**Silver medalist in Moscow in 2007.
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The American Chemical Society — the world’s largest scientific society — is a nonprofit organization chartered by the U.S. Congress and a global leader in providing access to chemistry-related research through its multiple databases, peer-reviewed journals and scientific conferences. Its main offices are in Washington, D.C., and Columbus, Ohio.
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