Team USA selected from USABO National Finalists at Purdue

07-01-2013

Four top-scoring high school students will represent Team USA 2013 at the International Biology Olympiad (IBO) on July 14-21 in Bern, Switzerland.

Members of Team USA earned gold medals at the Center for Excellence in Education's (CEE) USA Biology Olympiad (USABO) National Finals held in collaboration with Purdue University on its main campus in West Lafayette, Ind.

Team USA 2013 is Nikhil Buduma, Bellarmine College Preparatory, San Jose, Calif.; Lei Ding, The Charter School of Wilmington, Wilmington, Del.; Charles Gleason, Bergen County Academies, Hackensack, N.J.; and Catherine Wu, Canyon Crest Academy, San Diego, Calif.

The top 20 student finalists were chosen from nearly 10,500 students as demonstrated by their scores on the USA Biology Olympiad open and semifinal exams.

During the two weeks at Purdue, the finalists participated in intensive theoretical and practical tutorials. The high school students studied with leading U.S. biologists who are experts in the fields of cellular biology, microbiology, biotechnology, plant anatomy and physiology, animal anatomy and physiology, ethology, genetics and evolution, ecology, ethology and biosystematics.

USABO 2013 silver medalists are Sidharth Chand, Detroit Country Day School, Beverly Hills, Mich.; William Long, Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology, Alexandria, Va.; Janice Ong, Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology, Alexandria, Va.; and Raymond Wang, Holmdel High School, Holmdel, N.J.

Awarded USABO 2013 bronze medals are Bryce Hwang, Foothill High School, Pleasanton, Calif.; Abhijit Mudigonda, Westview High School, Portland, Ore.; Christopher Radcliff, Morgantown High School, Morgantown, W.Va.; and Siddharth Trehan, Mira Loma High School, Sacramento, Calif.

All Team USA Members have medaled since the United States first began competing at the IBO in 2003, garnering a total of 31 gold, seven silver and two bronze medals. Team USA members earned gold medals at the last five International Biology Olympiad competitions.

Coaches Kathy Frame of CEE and Clark Gedney, director of the BioMedia Center for Instructional Design at Purdue, will accompany Team USA at the IBO, which is a worldwide competition involving students from 60 countries.

"These students are going to change the world, and it's exciting Purdue could play a role in positioning these bright young high school students for success at the national competition activities here on campus and the upcoming international competition in Switzerland," Gedney said.

Frame received the honor of being elected by her fellow jurors of the 2012 International Biology Olympiad in Singapore to be one of six members of the subgroup of Switzerland's host committee for the 2013 IBO in Bern, Switzerland.

The subgroup will work in cooperation with Switzerland to review the practical and the theoretical examinations that have been developed, focusing on the quality of the questions in terms of scientific correctness and conceptual formulation.

About the Center for Excellence in Education

The Center for Excellence in Education was founded in 1983 by the late Admiral H.G. Rickover and Joann P. DiGennaro, president of the center. The center's mission is to nurture high school and university scholars to careers of excellence and leadership in science, technology, engineering and mathematics, and to encourage collaboration between and among leaders in the global community. CEE sponsors the Research Science Institute, the USA Biology Olympiad, and the Teacher Enrichment Program. For more information about the Center and its programs, visit CEE's website, Center for Excellence in Education

 

Media Contacts:

Maureen Palmer, 703-448-9062 ext. 224, mpalmer@cee.org

Phillip Fiorini, 765-496-3133, pfiorini@purdue.edu

Sources:

Kathy Frame, 571-228-0098, kframe@cee.org

Clark Gedney, 765-494-4921, cgedney@purdue.edu

 

Related websites:

• Center for Excellence in Education: http://www.cee.org
• College of Science: http://www.science.purdue.edu
• BioMedia Center for Instructional Design: http://biomedia.bio.purdue.edu/
• Discovery Park: http://www.purdue.edu/discoverypark/

Article originally appeared in Purdue Today July 1, 2013