2005 US Physics Olympiad Team Honored

Twenty-four of the most talented physics students from high schools around the country came to the nation’s capitol in May. These students had competed against hundreds of their peers to earn a place on the 2005 US Physics Team.

While participating in a week-long training camp at the University of Maryland, the Team members were honored with a "Tribute to the US Physics Team 2005" ceremony on Capitol Hill. The May 18 ceremony was sponsored by the American Institute of Physics (AIP) and the American Association of Physics Teachers (AAPT). It was co-hosted by Reps. Vern Ehlers (R-MI) and Rush Holt (D-NJ), the two physicists in Congress. In conjunction with the ceremony, Ehlers also placed a statement in the Congressional Record congratulating the Team.

This year’s international competition will be held in Salamanca, Spain, from July 3 to 12. At the end of the training camp, the top five highest scoring students were chosen to represent the US at the 2005 International Physics Olympiad. The members of the traveling Team are: Timothy Credo, Illinois Math and Science Academy, Aurora, IL; Nickolas Fortino, Phillips Academy, Andover, MA, Menyoung Lee, Thomas Jefferson HS for Science and Technology, Alexandria, VA; Eric Mecklenburg, Hawken School, Gates Mills, OH; Daniel Whalen, Phillips Academy, Andover, MA; Alternate: William Throwe, Shoreham-Wading River HS, Shoreham, NY.

Since 1986, AAPT and AIP, with support from APS and other societies, have recruited, selected, and trained teams to compete in the International Physics Olympiad. The US Team has enjoyed great success over the years, bringing home two gold, two silver, and one bronze medals from the 2004 Olympiad in Pohang, Korea.