FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE | July 31, 2019

U.S. team brings home gold and silver from the 51st International Chemistry Olympiad

WASHINGTON, July 31, 2019 — The American Chemical Society (ACS) is proud to announce that the four high school chemistry whiz kids representing the U.S. at the annual International Chemistry Olympiad (IChO) earned three gold medals and one silver.

The members of the team are:

Yajvan Ravan, Churchill High School, Westland, Michigan, gold medal, placed 19th

Anton Ni, University High School, Irvine, California, gold medal, placed 28th

Edward Jin, Arnold O. Beckman High School, Irvine, California, gold medal, placed 30th

Albert Liu, North Hollywood High School, Porter Ranch, California, silver medal, placed 59th

More than 300 students from 80 countries competed this year.

Speaking with ACS’ newsmagazine Chemical & Engineering News, Ni says, “I think my favorite part about the competition is staying up at night just chatting with people. You learn a lot about people from other countries, and you discover that they're also really passionate about chemistry — and you learn so much about them as people and as chemists.”

“Even though we all have different languages, different cultures, we can still all bond over chemistry,” Jin says.

Regarding the 100-degree temperatures in Paris recently, Liu says, “It’s been quite difficult handling the heat.”  

Ravan enjoyed the opportunity to visit the Palace of Versailles. “I was impressed by how big and luxurious [Versailles] was,” he says. “I was totally blown away by it.”

ACS has sponsored the American team annually since the U.S. joined the Olympiad in 1984. Principal funding is through the ACS Donald F. and Mildred Topp Othmer Olympiad Endowment, with additional support from The Chemours Company; the University of Maryland at College Park, department of chemistry and biochemistry; Carolina Biological Supply Company; Macmillan Learning; Texas Instruments; Pearson; and Fisher Science Education.

The International Chemistry Olympiad originated with Czechoslovakia, Poland and Hungary in 1968. Soon, other Eastern European countries joined the event; Western Europe began participating in 1974. The first U.S. team competed in 1984, winning one silver and two bronze medals.

The American Chemical Society, the world’s largest scientific society, is a not-for-profit organization chartered by the U.S. Congress. ACS is a global leader in providing access to chemistry-related information and research through its multiple databases, peer-reviewed journals and scientific conferences. ACS does not conduct research, but publishes and publicizes peer-reviewed scientific studies. Its main offices are in Washington, D.C., and Columbus, Ohio.

To automatically receive press releases from the American Chemical Society, contact newsroom@acs.org.

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Left to right: Edward Jin, Anton Ni, Yajvan Ravan and Albert Liu. Also pictured is Testudo, the University of Maryland mascot that traveled with the team.
Credit: Melissa Barranger-Mathys