U.S. Team Selected For Chemistry Olympiad

The team of four high school students who will represent the U.S. at the 44th International Chemistry Olympiad to be held in the Washington, D.C., area on July 21–30 has been chosen.

The team members are Sidharth Chand of Detroit Country Day School, Beverly Hills, Mich.; James Deng of Choate Rosemary Hall, Wallingford, Conn.; Jason Ge of Westview High School, in San Diego; and Christopher Hillenbrand of Regis High School, in New York City. Timothy Lee of Arcadia High School, in California, and Andrew Guo of Scarsdale High School, in New York, will serve as alternates.

The team was assembled on June 19 at the conclusion of an intensive two-week U.S. National Chemistry Olympiad study camp organized by the American Chemical Society and held at the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs. The 20 students who participated in the camp were selected from a pool of approximately 10,000 high school students from around the country.

Head mentor Kelli Slunt, a chemistry professor at the University of Mary Washington, says she has high hopes for the team members’ performance at the international competition in July. “I am confident that all of them will medal,” she says, “but I also want them to appreciate the international friendships they’ll be able to cultivate as part of the experience.”