US high school team chosen for the 2015 International Chemistry Olympiad

WASHINGTON, June 24, 2015 — The American Chemical Society (ACS) is proud to announce the U.S. team for the 47th International Chemistry Olympiad (IChO) in Baku, Azerbaijan, July 20-29, 2015. The team will compete with students from more than 75 countries for gold, silver and bronze medals.

These are the members of the U.S. Team Alpha Theta:

• Soorajnath Boominathan (Edmond, OK), Oklahoma School of Science and Math
• Bryce Cai (South Barrington, IL), Barrington High School
• Janice Ong (Springfield, VA), Thomas Jefferson High School for Science & Technology   
• David Wang (Cupertino, CA), Monte Vista High School

Here are the two alternates who will join the team, if needed:

• Rueih-Sheng Fu (Arcadia, CA), Arcadia High School
• Richard Wang (West Hills, CA), North Hollywood High School

The competition for the U.S. team was fierce, beginning with a multiple-choice exam taken by nearly 16,000 high school students across the country.  The top 1,000 then advanced to take the National Chemistry Olympiad test. From there the top 20 went on to a study camp at the U.S. Air Force Academy, where the four-member team was determined.

The IChO 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.

ACS has sponsored the American team annually since the U.S. joined the Olympiad. Principal funding is through the ACS Donald F. and Mildred Topp Othmer Olympiad Endowment, with additional support from the Air Force Academy; Advanced Chemistry Development; Carolina Biological Supply Company; Cengage Learning; Flinn Scientific, Inc.; Fisher Science Education; Prentice Hall Publishers; Sigma Aldrich Co.; Texas Instruments, Inc.; University Science Books; and Wiley & Sons Publishers.

The American Chemical Society is a nonprofit organization chartered by the U.S. Congress. With more than 158,000 members, ACS is the world’s largest scientific society and a global leader in providing access to chemistry-related research through its multiple databases, peer-reviewed journals and scientific conferences. Its main offices are in Washington, D.C., and Columbus, Ohio.