It gives me great pleasure to write this article for the first time about the Chemistry Olympiad.
After successfully coordinating Chemistry Olympiad exams multiple times, Sally Peters decided to transfer her role this year, so I agreed to share the responsibility as the new coordinator with Natalie McClure. Despite the challenges and chaos created by the pandemic, Silicon Valley Local Section thought it was important to offer this opportunity to encourage chemistry and science among our local students and decided to go ahead with the announcement and let them have a chance to showcase their talent.
We were not sure how many students would register and were surprised to get a response from almost 300 students from 30 different schools when we reached out to the teachers to enroll their interested students.
The pattern for the National Chemistry Olympiad was different this year. The local qualifying exam, which was previously conducted within the schools, was replaced by a qualifying regional exam conducted online on March 27. The laboratory practice was replaced by an additional online exam which focused on problem solving, rather than multiple choice. This year, 3400 students in the US took the regional exam and 180 (out of 300 that registered) were in Silicon Valley. The nationwide average score was 30/60 and our section’s average was 32/60.
It was challenging to arrange online proctors. We reached out to the high school chemistry teachers to request their time and expertise for online proctoring and many graciously agreed. With additional friends and colleagues agreeing to proctor, we held a mock session just for the proctors a week before the exam. We are grateful to all the proctors who took time from their busy schedules to contribute to the success of the Olympiad.
On the day of the exam, Natalie McClure efficiently and patiently handled the humongous task of accommodating 30 proctors and 180 students in one Zoom meeting and sending them into breakout rooms in a matter of few minutes.
The 15 top-scoring students on the regional exam were then offered a chance to participate in the National exams which occurred in two parts on April 17 and April 24. Two students from our section scored nearly perfect scores on Part 1 of the National exam. The 200 top-scoring students on Part 1 from across the country advanced to Part 2. 12 students from our section qualified. The median nationwide for the second exam was 29/60. Our section’s median was 43.
From their performance on Part 2 of the national exam, 20 students nationwide were selected to attend the virtual study camp. Alexander Gu from Gunn High School was among them. This will be further narrowed down to 4 students to comprise the US team for the International Chemistry Olympiad.
Here is the link to the exam that these students aced. Check if you can match their scores! https://www.acs.org/content/acs/en/education/students/ highschool/olympiad/pastexams.html
Find the list of the top 20 finalists and the USNCO participants who earned high honors, honors, and honorable mentions here: https://www.acs.org/content/acs/en/education/students/ highschool/olympiad.html
The 12 students from our section who qualified for both exams are listed here, together with their schools and their teachers:
- Alexander Gu, Gunn High School, (Heather Mellows)
- Gilford Ting, Cupertino High School, (Amanda Slowikowski)
- Aditya Udgaonkar, BASIS Independent Silicon Valley, (Ilona Davies)
- Jonathan Huang, Lynbrook High School, (Lester Leung)
- Rishab Parthasarathy, The Harker School, (Mala Raghavan/Robbie Korin)
- Eric Wu, Mountain View High School, (Ning Xu)
- Benedict Song, Homestead High School, (Christopher Nafrada)
- Dong Jun Shin,Mountain View High School, (Ning Xu)
- Jack Zhang, BASIS Independent Silicon Valley (Ilona Davies)
- Arushi Agastwar, Monta Vista High School, (Kavita Gupta /Julie Choi)
- Angela Jiao, Lynbrook High School, (Lester Leung)
- Michael Eng, The Harker School, (Mala Raghavan/Robbie Korin)
Special thanks to Natalie McClure for her unconditional support throughout the whole process this year and to Sally Peters for her guidance.
The tremendous support that we received from all the teachers is highly commendable. Administering the National Chemistry Olympiad exams would not have been possible without their efforts and hard work in striving for the best for their students.
Last but not the least, a huge round of applause for the students who have consistently studied and excelled in chemistry and have made the Silicon Valley proud. Kudos to them. In-person or virtual, our students shine with outstanding performances year after year. The sacrifices that they and their parents make to excel is exemplary.
Dipti Shingnapurkar, Chemistry Olympiad Coordinator
See also: 2021ChemistryOlympiadvirtualstudycampstudentsnamed
