IUSD students received top honors at this year’s National Biology and Chemistry olympiad competitions, with two University High students moving forward to represent the United States at the International Chemistry Olympiad. Nathan Yihe Ouyang and Yufei Chen have been selected to compete for the U.S. team in the International Chemistry Olympiad Competition that will take place virtually next week.
University High School Science Teacher, David Knight said, “This is the first time our students have made it to the international level in the Chemistry Olympiad since I have been teaching here.”
In the separate Biology Olympiad competition, University student, Julianne Wu, earned a spot in the nation’s top 20. In addition to participating on University’s olympiad teams, Wu is also a writer and event supervisor at national Science Olympiad invitationals, including Yale Science Olympiad and Brown Science Olympiad. She is also a student researcher at UC Irvine and is spending this summer exploring biochemical research at UC Santa Barbara.
Each year, a series of science Olympiad competitions are hosted by various organizations. The ACS Chemistry Olympiad and the USA Biology Olympiad are multi-tiered competitions designed to stimulate and promote achievement in high school chemistry and biology. Students are challenged through rigorous exams, then move forward to training camp where they learn advanced concepts and lab skills that prepare them for the international level of competition.
Congratulations to our outstanding students! We also wish Nathan and Yufei the best of luck as they compete internationally at the Chemistry Olympiad next week!