2018 US Physics Team Announced by AAPT

Contact: Dave Wolfe, Director of Communications
E-mail: dwolfe@aapt.org
Phone: (301) 209-3327
www.aapt.org

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

College Park, MD, May 24, 2017—This spring you can find America's brightest emerging physicists at Physics Boot Camp. They come from California, Florida, India, Indiana, Massachusetts, Missouri, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Texas, and Washington. There are high school sophomores, juniors, and seniors. Five of them are returning as second time members of the United States Physics Team.

They will arrive in College Park, later this month to prepare for the next stage of the competition that will identify the world's best high school physics students. The twenty-two students have emerged, through a rigorous exam process that began last January with approximately 4,800 students who participated in the Fnet=ma exam, to become the 2017 U. S. Physics Team. 

These students will continue to train for the mentally grueling exams and lab tests they'll face at the 48th International Physics Olympiad to be held from July 16 –24, 2017 in Yogyakarta, Indonesia, where student scholars from 83 nations around the globe will test their knowledge in physics, competing with the world's best. Over the past ten years, every U.S. Physics Team member traveling to the international competition has returned with a medal.

The members of the 2017 U.S. Physics Team are:

Shreyas Balaji, John Foster Dulles High School Sugar Land, TX
Mike Bao, Troy High School, Fullerton, CA
Edward Cen, Bellaire High School, Bellaire, TX
Phil Chen, University HS - Irvine, Irvine, CA
Matthew Guo, Evergreen Valley High School, San Jose, CA
Tiffany Huang, Saratoga High School, Saratoga, CA
Kiran Linsuain, Homeschool, Pittsburgh, PA
Steven Liu, High Technology High School, Lincroft, NJ
Faraz Masroor, Gulliver Schools, Pinecrest, FL
Srijon Mukherjee, Amity International School, Noida, Noida, UP
Pranav Murugan, Texas Academy of Math and Science, Denton, TX
Anthony Ou, Carmel High School, Carmel, IN
Aditya Parulekar, Westwood High School, Austin, TX
Jimmy Qin, Seminole High School, Sanford, FL
Sanjay Raman, Lakeside School, Seattle, WA
Kye Shi, Monte Vista Christian School, Watsonville, CA
Michelle Song, Mission San Jose High School, Fremont, CA
Andrew Wang, Phillips Andover Academy, Andover, MA
Handong Wang, Los Gatos High School, Los Gatos, CA
Catherine Wu, Saratoga High School, Saratoga, CA
Haobang Yang, John P Stevens High School, Edison, NJ
Jerry Zhang, Marquette High School, Chesterfield, MO

"The competition for a position on the U.S. Physics Team is intense and each student who participated in the 2017 selection process is deserving of recognition. They are the future of America's success in physics related fields. AAPT is honored to recognize the exceptional scholars who qualified for the team and to support their further participation in the International Physics Olympiad," said Dr. Beth A. Cunningham, Executive Officer of the American Association of Physics Teachers. 

An integral part of the U.S. Physics Team experience is the training camp. Most of the students invited to the camp are the top science student in their high school. For many, it is their first chance to meet other students who are truly their peers. The training camp is a crash course in the first two years of university physics. Students learn at a very fast pace. They have an opportunity to hear about cutting edge research from some of the community's leading physicists. At the end of the training camp, five students will be selected to travel to Yogyakarta for the international competition.

The coaches for the 2017 U.S. Physics team are: Paul Stanley, Academic Director; David Fallest and JiaJia Dong Senior Coaches; Mark Eichenlaub and Kevin Zhou, Coaches; and Mike Winer, Junior Coach.

The U.S. Physics Team is sponsored by the generous support of private donors, the American Institute for Physics and the member societies of the American Institute of Physics:
Acoustical Society of America
American Association of Physicists in Medicine
American Association of Physics Teachers
American Astronomical Society
American Crystallographic Association
American Meteorological Society
American Institute for Physics
American Physical Society
AVS: Science &Technology of Materials, Interfaces, and Processing
Optical Society of America
The Society of Rheology

Hosting Universities
George Washington University
University of Maryland

Corporate Sponsors:
Anonymous
Ansatz
Beloit College
Cambridge University Press
D.E.Shaw
Ellington Management Group
Pearson
Princeton University Press
Texas Instruments
Wiley

List of Events
May 28 — 2017 Physics Team members arrive at the University of Maryland for their intensive training camp
May 30 — Welcome Reception at the University of Maryland
May 30 — NASA Visits
June 7 — Five students will be chosen to represent the U.S. Physics Team at the international competition
July 16-24 — International Physics Olympiad (IPHO) in Yogyakarta, Indonesia
July 23 — IPHO Closing Ceremony

More on the Web
Main website of the U.S. Physics Team: http://aapt.org/physicsteam/2017/team.cfm
History of the physics team, including past winners: http://aapt.org/physicsteam/2017/program.cfm
48th International Physics Olympiad: http://www.ipho2017.id/

About AAPT
AAPT is an international organization for physics educators, physicists, and industrial scientists—with members worldwide. Dedicated to enhancing the understanding and appreciation of physics through teaching, AAPT provides awards, publications, and programs that encourage teaching practical application of physics principles, support continuing professional development, and reward excellence in physics education. Founded in 1930, the Association is headquartered in the American Center for Physics in College Park, Maryland.