Advertisement
Grab your lab coat. Let's get started
Welcome!
Welcome!
Create an account below to get 6 C&EN articles per month, receive newsletters and more - all free.
It seems this is your first time logging in online. Please enter the following information to continue.
As an ACS member you automatically get access to this site. All we need is few more details to create your reading experience.
Not you? Sign in with a different account.
Not you? Sign in with a different account.
ERROR 1
ERROR 1
ERROR 2
ERROR 2
ERROR 2
ERROR 2
ERROR 2
Password and Confirm password must match.
If you have an ACS member number, please enter it here so we can link this account to your membership. (optional)
ERROR 2
ACS values your privacy. By submitting your information, you are gaining access to C&EN and subscribing to our weekly newsletter. We use the information you provide to make your reading experience better, and we will never sell your data to third party members.
Programs
2020 Chemistry Olympiad team named
The COVID-19 pandemic moves July competition online
by Andrea Widener
June 16, 2020
The US team that will compete in the 52nd International Chemistry Olympiad, which will be conducted fully online because of the COVID-19 pandemic, were selected on June 12.
Credit: Courtsey of Anugrah Chemparathy
Anugrah Chemparathy
The team was chosen after an online study camp that took place May 31 to June 12. It was organized by the American Chemical Society in collaboration with the University of Maryland, College Park.
Credit: Courtsey of Alex Li
Alex Li
The team members are Anugrah Chemparathy of Dougherty Valley High School in California; Alex Li and Alec Zhu of Lexington High School in Massachusetts; and Ananthan Sadagopan of Westborough High School in Massachusetts.
Credit: Courtsey of Ananthan Sadagopan
Ananthan Sadagopan
The first alternate is Nicholas Tsao of St. Mark’s School in Texas, and the second alternate is Michael Han of Dougherty Valley High School.
Credit: Courtsey of Alec Zhu
Alec Zhu
The online study camp is something new, but the mentors worked to run it in a similar way as in-person camps. That includes social events like games and a talent show so the participants could get to know each other.
“It was really evident how much effort the mentors put into making the camp as close to the real experience as they could, despite it being online, and I think we all really appreciated that,” Sadagopan says. “Overall, it was a really rewarding experience.”
The Olympiad trainers called in former campers and former mentors to help make the experience the best it could be given the circumstances.
“We tried to make the best of a situation that we had no control over. We used technology to the utmost,” says head mentor Melissa Barranger Mathys, a chemistry professor at Ursuline College in Ohio. “And I think we did a good job.”
The 52nd International Chemistry Olympiad, hosted by Turkey, will be held online on July 25. The lab-based portion of the competition has been dropped, which eliminates many of the opportunities for mistakes inherent in the lab section, the team members say.
“Based on historical trends, the absence of a lab section could be greatly beneficial,” Zhu says.
Correction
This story was updated on June 17, 2020, to give the correct date for the 52nd International Chemistry Olympiad. The date of the International Chemistry Olympiad is July 25th, 2020, not June 25th.
CORRECTION
This story was updated on June 17, 2020, to correctly identify the first and second alternates and to correct the source of the quote. The first alternate is Nicholas Tsao, and the second alternate is Michael Han. Not the other way around. The last quote is from Alec Zhu, not Anugrah Chemparathy.
Chemical & Engineering News
ISSN 0009-2347
Copyright © 2023 American Chemical Society
You might also like...
Advertisement
The power is now in your (nitrile gloved) hands
Sign up for a free account to get more articles. Or choose the ACS option that’s right for you.
Already have an ACS ID? Log in
Join the conversation
Contact the reporter
Submit a Letter to the Editor for publication
Engage with us on Twitter