May 31, 2010, College Park, MD -- Five students have been selected to represent the U.S. Physics Team as the 2010 Traveling Team at the 41st International Physics Olympiad, a competition among high-school physics students, to be held in Zagreb, Croatia, from July 17 to 25.
The traveling team members are:
Jenny Lu, a senior at Pomperaug High School in Southbury, CT; bio at http://www.aapt.org/physicsteam/2010/team.cfm?id=824&year=2010
Daniel Li, a senior at Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology, Alexandria, VA; bio at http://www.aapt.org/physicsteam/2010/team.cfm?id=819&year=2010
David Field, of Andover, MA, a senior at the Phillips Andover Academy in Andover, MA; bio at http://www.aapt.org/physicsteam/2010/team.cfm?id=818&year=2010
Anand Oza, a senior at Montgomery Blair High School in Silver Spring, MD; bio at http://www.aapt.org/physicsteam/2010/team.cfm?id=825&year=2010
Eric Spieglan, a sophomore at Naperville North High School, Naperville, IL; bio at http://www.aapt.org/physicsteam/2010/team.cfm?id=830&year=2010
"All twenty students who participated in the training camp are champions. They have tested themselves with the best of their peers for ten days and have proven to be an exceptional group of young people," said Warren Hein, Executive Officer of the American Association of Physics Teachers, which sponsors the team. "We are proud of them all and are confident that the five Traveling Team members will continue the tradition of success for the United States as they represent the U.S. Physics Team in Zagreb."
The students attended a rigorous training camp at the University of Maryland, where, through classes, labs and special lectures, they were coached on difficult physics concepts, then took a series of exams. They also made a trip to nearby Washington, DC to visit their congressional representatives and senators, and to the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum in Chantilly, VA. The coaches for the 2010 U.S. Physics team are: Paul Stanley, Academic Director/Senior Coach, Warren Turner, Senior Coach/Lab Coach, Andrew Lin, Jia Jia Dong, Qui Zi Li, and David Fallest.
Last year, the team brought home one silver medal and four gold medals. David Field, a returning team member, brought home a silver medal for the 2009 Team.
The U.S. Physics Olympiad Program was started in 1986 by AAPT to promote and demonstrate academic excellence. It continues to be supported as a joint initiative between AAPT, AIP, and the member societies of the American Institute for Physics: Acoustical Society of America, American Association of Physicists in Medicine, American Astronomical Society, American Crystallographic Society, American Geophysical Union, American Physical Society, AVS - Science and Technology of Materials, Interfaces, and Processing, Optical Society America, and the Society of Rheology.
The 41st IPhO is being organized by the Croatian Physical Society and the University of Zagreb as the co-organizer, under the financial support of the Ministry of Science, Education and Sports of the Republic of Croatia and the City of Zagreb. The nine-day international competition brings together pre-university students from more than 80 nations.
LIST OF EVENTS:
May 21-31 -- Physics Team students visit University of Maryland for their intensive training camp.
May 31 -- Five students chosen as the Traveling Team to represent the US Team at the international competition.
July 17 -- Traveling Team arrives in Zagreb for the international competition.
July 25 -- The International Olympiad's final awards given.
MORE ON THE WEB
• Main website of the U.S. Physics Team: http://www.aapt.org/physicsteam/2010/index.cfm
• History of the physics team, including past winners: http://www.aapt.org/physicsteam/2010/program.cfm
• The official website of the International Physics Olympiad: http://ipho2010.hfd.hr/
• Screening exams the students took to place on the U.S. Physics Team: http://www.compadre.org/psrc/evals/olympiad.cfm
CONTACT:
Marilyn Gardner, American Association of Physics Teachers, mgardner@aapt.org, 301-209-3306
