Behind The Scenes: Scientific Committee Put In Long Hours To Draft Olympiad Exam Questions

For more than two years, the dedicated volunteers who serve on the Scientific Committee for the 44th International Chemistry Olympiad have worked to prepare the questions for both the practical and theoretical exams that students will take later this month. Michael P. Doyle, professor and chair of the department of chemistry and biochemistry at the University of Maryland, College Park, cochaired the committee with his department colleague Andrei N. Vedernikov, a professor and former IChO gold medalist.

Many of the committee members have participated in prior olympiads as competitors or as mentors, Vedernikov notes. “As a result, they understand the many facets of the event and are aware that the students who compete as olympians possess chemistry knowledge and skills that are well above some university chemistry graduate students.” The members of the committee are shown here, grouped by affiliation:

Georgetown University, Department of Chemistry (Washington, D.C.)

Kaveh Jorabchi, assistant professor

Rider University, Department of Chemistry, Biochemistry & Physics (Lawrenceville, N.J.)

Bruce S. Burnham, associate professor of chemistry

Scripps Research Institute (La Jolla, Calif.)

J. L. Kiappes, graduate student

State University of New York, Oneonta, Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry

John C. Kotz, professor emeritus

University of Maryland, College Park, Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry

Michael P. Doyle, professor and chair

Daniel E. Falvey, professor

George R. Helz, professor emeritus

Douglas A. Julin, associate professor

Sang Bok Lee, associate professor

Amy S. Mullin, professor

Garegin A. Papoian, associate professor

Andrei N. Vedernikov, professor

Natalia White, lecturer

University of North Dakota, Department of Chemical Engineering (Grand Forks, N.D.)

Evguenii I. (Jenya) Kozliak, professor

University of Notre Dame, Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry (Notre Dame, Ind.)

Seth N. Brown, associate professor