Will aim to repeat 1999 'Best In The World' finish
Twenty of the nation's top high school chemistry students from 13 states will vie for a spot on the U.S. team in the 32nd International Chemistry Olympiad in Copenhagen, Denmark, July 2-11. The primary sponsor of the team is the American Chemical Society, the world's largest scientific society. The Olympiad is designed to identify the best high school chemistry students from around the world and provides students a chance to learn about high school students from other nations.
Last year's U.S. team garnered "best in the world" status with three gold medals -- including the top gold -- and one silver. The win represented the U.S. team's best finish ever with the top gold awarded to Timothy Jones of New Jersey, who now attends the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, Calif.
The 16 boys and 4 girls will spend June 4-18 preparing at a study camp at the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colo. They were chosen from a pool of nearly 10,000 high school students nationwide. During the two-week camp, the students will participate in a series of lectures, problem-solving exercises, lab work and testing. The high school students receive training at the college level with an emphasis on organic chemistry, so that the U.S. team can better compete with students overseas. At the conclusion, a four-member U.S. team will be named to participate in the international contest with teams from about 50 other countries.
Mentors in the sciences and professors of the U.S. Air Force Academy respectively conduct the majority of laboratory and classroom instruction at the study camp."The students are constantly being evaluated as potential representatives of the United States," said Jesse Bernstein, Ph.D., the head mentor."In selecting the final four, we consider how well they get along as a team, how they handle themselves in various situations, and how well they perform on their exams and laboratory work during the study camp."
"These kids are the brightest among the bright and are tomorrow's scientific leaders," said Nadine Szczepanski, Ph.D., who also is an Olympiad mentor."It is difficult to narrow down to four students when all are so intelligent, so we must consider those who exude a spirit of cooperation and competition."
The International Chemistry Olympiad originated with Czechoslovakia, Poland and Hungary in 1968 and was quickly joined by other eastern European countries. Western Europe began participating in 1974. The first U.S. team competed in 1984, winning one silver and two bronze medals. Each country sends four contestants and two coaches to the host country for seven to ten days of exams, lectures, recreation and tours.
The 20 U.S. finalists who will participate in this year's study camp are:
STATE, CITY / STUDENT NAME/ SCHOOL
Calif., Beverly Hills /Charles Duan*/ Beverly Hills High School
Calif., Fullerton/ Ziyad Jabaji/ Troy High School
Calif., North Hollywood/ Jeff Zira/ North Hollywood High School
Hawaii, Honolulu /Camilla Lau /Iolani High School
Idaho, Idaho Falls/ David Kurtz* /Skyline High School
Ind., Terre Haute /Andrew Chi /Terre Haute South Vigo H.S.
Kan., Shawnee Mission/ David Zhang/ Shawnee Mission South
Mass., Acton /Ray Perlner /Acton-Boxborough Regional H. S.
Mich., Novi/ Janice Liao/ Novi High School
Mich., Novi/ Jessica Zhou/ Novi High School
N.Y., Rochester /Binghai Ling/ Brighton High School
N.Y., Roslyn /Jordan Rubinstein/ Roslyn High School
Ohio, Worthington/ Kai Sung /Thomas Worthington High School
Okla., Oklahoma City /Luke McSpadden/ Okla. School of Sciences & Math
Okla., Oklahoma City /Amanda Stockton/ Okla. School of Sciences & Math
Pa., Emmaus /James Solomon /Emmaus High School
Pa., Hershey /James Maiolo/ Hershey High School
Pa., Monroeville /Zhe Lu/ Gateway Senior High School
Tenn., Chattanooga /Sean Kedrowski/ Baylor High School
Texas, Bellaire/ Albert Wang /Bellaire High School
* student participated in last year's study camp
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Participation of the U.S. team has been sponsored by the American Chemical Society since the first year of U.S. participation. 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 and Steck-Vaugh/Saunders Publishing.
A nonprofit organization with a membership of 161,000 chemists and chemical engineers, the American Chemical Society publishes scientific journals and databases, convenes major research conferences, and provides educational, science policy and career programs in chemistry. Its main offices are in Washington, D.C., and Columbus, Ohio.