Upper school students compete in International Chemistry Olympiad

Derek+Yen+%2810%29+and+Linus+Li+%2810%29+pose+after+a+challenging+chemistry+olympiad.+The+the+28th+International+Chemistry+Olympiad+%28IChO%29+took+place+in+Tbilisi%2C+Georgia+from+July+23+to+August+1.+

Provided by Derek Yen

Derek Yen (10) and Linus Li (10) pose after a challenging chemistry olympiad. The the 28th International Chemistry Olympiad (IChO) took place in Tbilisi, Georgia from July 23 to August 1.

by Stanely Zhou and Shania Wang

Two Harker students, sophomores Linus Li and Derek Yen, competed at Las Positas College in Livermore, CA on April 23 for a chance to travel to the 28th International Chemistry Olympiad (IChO) in Tbilisi, Georgia from July 23 to August 1.

Selection for the U.S. team comprises two examinations. Students first take the local Chemistry Olympiad exam, from which up to two students per school advance if they meet the qualification score. The next test qualified students take is the National Chemistry Olympiad exam. From that pool, 20 are picked to attend a two-week study camp at the United States Air Force Academy in June, from which four will be selected to represent the U.S.

Harker has traditionally performed well on the IChO. In 2009, the school sent three competitors to the national round, breaking the school limit of two qualifiers due to their outstanding performances.

This year, Linus and Derek qualified for the national exam, while sophomore Shaya Zarkesh passed as Harker’s alternate.

“I thought it was really cool,” Linus said. “It was really fun to take it because then I knew how prepared I was for the AP Chemistry exam, and I just really like chemistry in general.”

The competition was initially scheduled to take place in Karachi, Pakistan, from July 20 to 29. This year would have been Pakistan’s first year of hosting the IChO. Due to concerns about safety in the country, the U.S. team originally chose not to compete. The government also withdrew its support of the competition, ultimately resulting in the location change.

“The United States Department of State did not allow high school students to travel to Pakistan due to safety reasons,” chemistry teacher Robbie Korin said. “Other western nations may have followed. Pakistan gave up the right to host, and Georgia was chosen.”

The IChO is an annual competition between talented chemistry students from around the world. Each nation is permitted to send a team of four individuals, which is tested on their chemistry knowledge in a laboratory practical and written examination that are each five hours long.

Topics are mostly first-year college-level questions but may include organic [chemistry] and biochemistry,” Korin said.

Linus and Derek will learn their scores on May 6th and whether they will advance to take the two-week study camp in the IChO.

This article was originally published in the pages of the Winged Post on May 4, 2016.