APS, AAPT and AIP Sponsor Students at WYP Kickoff Event

APS, the American Association of Physics Teachers, and the American Institute of Physics are sponsoring four former members of the US Physics Olympics Team to attend the kickoff for the International Year of Physics 2005. This launch conference, "Physics for Tomorrow," will be held at the UNESCO headquarters in Paris, France, January 13-15.

Over 1,000 people are expected to attend, including Nobel laureates, political leaders, established scientists, and several hundred students from over 60 countries.

"We wanted students with good physics knowledge and insights, and we also wanted students who would represent the United States on a very interactive level, so they would be able to discuss the future of physics, which is one of the purposes of the conference," said AAPT Executive Officer Bernard Khoury.

More information about the World Year of Physics launch conference is available at www.wyp2005.org.

The four students sponsored by APS, AAPT and AIP are:

Natalia Toro: Toro attended Fairview High School , CO, and participated in the Physics Olympiad competition in 1998 and 1999. Toro was one of the youngest female students on the US Physics Team. She brought home a silver medal. Toro enrolled at MIT and graduated with a bachelor's degree in physics and math in 2003. She is currently enrolled in the physics PhD program at Harvard University and is hoping to graduate in 2007 or 2008.

Benjamin Schwartz: Schwartz attended Staples High School, CT, and participated in the Physics Olympiad competition in 2001 and 2002. In the fall of 2002, he enrolled at MIT and expects to graduate in 2006 with a double major in physics with electrical engineering and math. Schwartz is spending this year at Fitzwilliam College in Cambridge University, Cambridge, UK. In his spare time, Schwartz rows for the MIT Varsity Lightweight Crew Team and sings with the Chorallaries of MIT, an a Capella group.

Sean Markan: Markan attended Roxbury Latin School, MA, and participated in the Physics Olympiad competition in 2002. In the fall of 2002, Markan enrolled at MIT and expects to graduate in 2006. He has been studying physics, math and computer science. This past summer, he worked at CERN with the group building the data acquisition system for one of the detectors that will be part of the Large Hadron Collider.

Chintan Hossain: Hossain attended The Charter School of Wilmington, DE, and participated in the Physics Olympiad competition in 2002 and 2003. At the 2003 competition in Taipei, Taiwan, he ranked 19th among all the students and received a gold medal. Hossain is enrolled in MIT and expects to graduate in 2007 with a double major in physics and brain and cognitive science.