Vol. 28 No. 1
January-February 2006

A First-Class Event for First-Class Young Chemists—37th International Chemistry Olympiad 2005

A member of the Russian federation accepts the absolute first prize from Yuan-T Lee.

The 37th International Chemistry Olympiad (IChO*), held in Taipei from 16 to 25 July 2005, was a great success. This year, 59 countries competed and 6 countries attended as second-time observers, bringing 225 high school student competitors, 117 mentors, 37 scientific observers, and 34 guests to this great event.

Both the competitors and their escorts expressed enthusiastic appreciation of the excellent conditions under which the competition took place and of the program organized by the Department of Chemistry and Science Education Center of the National Taiwan Normal University (NTNU). The event helped draw the public’s attention to the importance of the natural sciences, and of chemistry in particular. The chair of the International Steering Committee, Dr. Kurt B. Nielsen of Denmark, noted that it was “a very good IChO. Everything worked. It was a good example to follow.”

Olympiad participants take the theoretical exam in the auditorium of the National Taiwan Normal University.

The practical exam was held in the six big labs of the National Taiwan University.

The five-hour practical laboratory competition was held on 19 July at National Taiwan University, and the five-hour theoretical examination on 21 July at the NTNU College of Science, where the students stayed during the IChO. The two unforgettable international jury sessions for tasks discussion and translation were held at the National Academy of Educational Research, which housed the mentors, scientific observers, and guests from 15 to 20 July. A gala reunion dinner for students and teachers was held 21 July at the Grand Hotel, which housed the teachers from 21 to 24 July. In addition, during the competition and while the mentors were grading and arbitrating the exams, many cultural, social, and science-related events were held for both students and teachers.

Organizers of the 37th IChO 2005 meet the press on 15 July 2005.

An Informal Steering Committee meeting was convened on 22 July, and the final jury session on 23 July to discuss IChO business and decide on the winners. The distribution of awards was as follows: ranks 1–26, 26 golds (11.5%); ranks 27–74, 48 silvers (21.3%); and ranks 75–154, 80 bronzes (35.2%). In addition, six honorable mentions and three special awards were given: the absolute first prize award, the best theoretical examination award, and the best practical examination award. Award winners received prizes from the 1986 Chemistry Nobel Laureate, President Yuan-Tze Lee; Premier of the Executive Yuan, Chang-Ting Hsieh; Ministers Tu (Education) and Wu (Science Council); and the president of the Chemical Society.

The next IChO will be held in Gyeongsan, South Korea, 2 to 11 July 2006.

http://icho2006.kcsnet.or.kr

* For a review of IChO, see Chem. Int. July-Aug 2005, p. 3