US TEAM SCOOPS 1 GOLD, 2 SILVER, AND 2 BRONZE MEDALS AT INTERNATIONAL PHYSICS COMPETITION

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Marilyn GardnerAmerican Association of Physics Teachersmgardner@aapt.org301-209-3306

July 26, 2010

College Park, MD -- The US top physics students are bringing home 1 gold medal, 2 silver medals, and 2 bronze medals from the 41st International Physics Olympiad, held this year from July 17 to 25 in Zagreb, Croatia.

The gold medal winner: Daniel Li , a senior at Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology, Alexandria, VA.

The silver medal winners: Eric Spieglan , a sophomore at Naperville North High School, Naperville, IL and Anand Oza , a senior at Montgomery Blair High School in Silver Spring, MD.

The bronze medal winners: Jenny Lu , a senior at Pomperaug High School in Southbury, CT and David Field , of Andover, MA, a senior at the Phillips Andover Academy in Andover, MA.

The US Physics Team tied with Korea for 11th place. China, Taiwan, and Thailand tied for 1st place with five gold medals each.

The U.S. Physics Olympiad Program was started in 1986 by AAPT to promote and demonstrate academic excellence. It continues to be supported as a joint initiative between AAPT, AIP, and the member societies of the American Institute for Physics: Acoustical Society of America, American Association of Physicists in Medicine, American Astronomical Society, American Crystallographic Society, American Geophysical Union, American Physical Society, AVS, Optical Society America, and the Society of Rheology. . The coaches for the 2010 U.S. Physics team are: Paul Stanley, Academic Director/Senior Coach, Warren Turner, Senior Coach/Lab Coach, Andrew Lin, and David Fallest.

The 41st IPhO is being organized by the Croatian Physical Society and the University of Zagreb as the co-organizer, under the financial support of the Ministry of Science, Education and Sports of the Republic of Croatia and the City of Zagreb. The nine-day international competition brought together The IPhO this year, with about 410 participating pre-university students from more than 82 nations.

MORE ON THE WEB• Main website of the U.S. Physics Team: http://www.aapt.org/physicsteam/2010/index.cfm • History of the physics team, including past winners: http://www.aapt.org/physicsteam/2010/program.cfm • The official website of the International Physics Olympiad: http://ipho2010.hfd.hr/ • Screening exams the students had to pass to place on the U.S. Physics Team: http://www.compadre.org/psrc/evals/olympiad.cfm .

Funding for the U.S. Physics Team is supported through donations from concerned individuals and organizations. Contributions are entirely used to support the selection, training, and travel of the team. Donations to the U.S. Physics Team are accepted at www.aapt.org/physicsteam/donate.cfm .

About AAPT

AAPT is the premier national organization and authority on physics and physical science education--with more than 10,000 members worldwide. Our mission is to advance the greater good through physics teaching. We provide our members with many opportunities for professional development, communication, and student enrichment. We serve the larger community through a variety of programs and publications. AAPT was founded in 1930 and is headquartered in the American Center for Physics in College Park, Maryland.

The US top physics students are bringing home 1 gold medal, 2 silver medals, and 2 bronze medals from the 41st International Physics Olympiad, held this year from July 17 to 25 in Zagreb, Croatia.