Physics Olympiad Held in Bali, US Stays Home
DOI: 10.1063/1.1522160
Welcoming students from 70 countries, Indonesian President Megawati Sukarnoputri kicked off the 33rd International Physics Olympiad in Nusa Dua, Bali, in July, by saying that the event “can be a positive means for increasing people’s attention, understanding, and mastery of basic science.” Her comments marked the first time the event has been opened by a head of state.
Vietnam’s Ngoc Duong Dang earned the highest individual score. The People’s Republic of China, with four gold medals and one silver, had the top overall team score for the third straight year. But Iran’s team was the only one to win five gold medals. Back home, Iran’s team is being recognized for its accomplishments: Members are exempt from both university entry exams and the military, and will meet with Iranian President Seyed Mohammad Khatami.
As usual, the competitors tackled both theoretical and experimental problems. One of this year’s experimental problems required that they determine the unknown optical components inside a sealed box by probing optical signals from two slits in the box.
Originally scheduled to be held in Bandung, about 200 km southeast of Jakarta, the Olympiad was moved to Bali and delayed a week because of floods and security concerns. But the move was not enough to reverse the US team’s no-show decision. Heeding a State Department warning against nonessential travel to Indonesia, the US team’s sponsors—the American Association of Physics Teachers and the American Institute of Physics—kept their team home. Instead, the US team members attended a ceremony in their honor at NASA headquarters in Washington, DC.
The five US students who would have competed in Indonesia are Pavel Batrachenko of John Marshall High School in Rochester, Minnesota; Steven Byrnes and Sean Markan of Roxbury Latin School in Boston; Benjamin Schwartz of Staples High School in Westport, Connecticut; and David Simmons-Duffin of Shaker Heights High School in Shaker Heights, Ohio. AIP and AAPT presented them with medals and scholarships.
Next year’s Olympiad will be held in July in Taipei, Taiwan.
During downtime, students took part in a kite festival on the beaches of Bali (bottom). Stamps commemorating the Olympiad (top) were issued by Indonesia’s postal service.
33RD IPHO ORGANIZING COMMITTEE
