Aussie whiz kids picked to compete at World Science Games

The world’s toughest science competitions for teenagers, the UNESCO-sanctioned International Science Olympiads, have survived the impact of COVID-19, with 21 Australian students winning selection to represent Australia in biology, chemistry, Earth science and physics.

The Year 11 and 12 students represent 16 schools from SA, Qld, WA, NSW, Vic, NT and ACT. They have spent a year in exams and intensive training to make the cut. They succeeded against thousands of other students in qualifying exams and intensive training camps, all run remotely, for ultimate selection to the teams.

This year’s teams include two students from Adelaide who represent the strongest participation from South Australia since 1994, the first student from the Northern Territory since 2007, and the first West Australian student to compete since 2016.

Instead of travelling to international competitions this year, the 21 young Aussie Olympians will pit their knowledge and critical thinking skills against more than 1000 of the world’s smartest teenagers from more than 80 countries in online exams and challenges supervised at their school or other approved competition venues.

Year 12 student Olivia Anderson from Darwin High School, who will represent Australia in Earth science, said: “I learned something every day during the Australian Science Olympiads program, and I am really excited to be representing Australia and the Northern Territory at the International Earth Science Olympiad.”

“Despite the COVID-19 lockdowns and disruptions over the past year, we have been able to roll out our Australian Science Olympiads program via remote learning, which has allowed us to put more students than ever through the challenge and pace of high-level Olympiads training,” said Ruth Carr, Executive Director, Australian Science Innovations.

This year marks the 35th anniversary of Australia’s participation in the International Science Olympiads. Since 1987, the Australian Science Olympiads program has helped thousands of talented high school students to unlock their potential and passion for science.

The Science Olympiads program is funded through the Department of Industry, Science, Energy and Resources. Australian National University is the University Partner of the Australian Science Olympiads. Australia’s International Science Olympiads programs are run by not-for-profit Australian Science Innovations.

The Australian team members for the 2021 International Science Olympiads are:

International Biology Olympiad — 19 to 22 July 2021

• Maya Anderson, Year 12, Sydney Girls High School, NSW
• Jackson Fu, Year 12, North Sydney Boys High School, NSW
• Audrey Sutidjan, Year 12, James Ruse Agricultural High School, NSW
• Lior Yoffe, Year 12, Baulkham Hills High School, NSW
   

International Chemistry Olympiad — 25 July to 2 August 2021

• Oscar Dong, Year 11, James Ruse Agricultural High School, NSW
• Austin Lin, Year 11, Barker College, NSW
• Vincent Ng, Year 11, James Ruse Agricultural High School, NSW
• Keith Wong, Year 12, Perth Modern School, WA
   

International Earth Science Olympiad — 25 to 30 August 2021

• Olivia Anderson, Year 12, Darwin High School, NT
• Hayden Greer, Year 12, Queensland Academy for Science, Mathematics and Technology, Qld
• Frances Kan, Year 11, James Ruse Agricultural High School, NSW
• Anna Kremer, Year 11, Sydney Girls High School, NSW
• Ryan Liu, Year 12, Glenunga International High School, SA
• Jonathan Purcell, Year 12, John Monash Science School, Vic
• Sharlyn Tan, Year 11, James Ruse Agricultural High School, NSW
• Alexandra Vickery, Year 12, Narrabundah College, ACT
   

International Physics Olympiad — 17 to 25 July 2021

• Dhruv Hariharan, Year 12, Knox Grammar School, NSW
• James Monro, Year 12, Canberra Grammar School, ACT
• Raymond Trinh, Year 12, James Ruse Agricultural High School, NSW
• Yalun Yang, Year 12, Queensland Academy for Health Sciences, Qld
• Rune Chi Zhao, Year 11, St Peter’s Collegiate Girls School, SA
   

Image credit: ©stock.adobe.com/au/Olivier Le Moal