The American Chemical Society (ACS) is proud to announce the team that will represent the U.S. at the 55th International Chemistry Olympiad on July 16 to 25 in Zurich, Switzerland.
The members of 2023 Team USA are:
- Mingwen Duan, East Lyme High School, CT.
- Alice Liu, Marquette High School, MO.
- Anurag Sodhi, Centennial High School, MD.
- Phoenix Wu, Seven Lakes High School, TX.
The first and second alternate are:
1st Sebastian Kumar, Tesla STEM High School, WA. 2nd Brian Li, Acton-Boxborough Regional High School, MA.
The mentors supporting the team are:
- Head Mentor Esther Hines, Billerica Memorial High School, MA.
- College Mentor Joseph Houck, Pennsylvania State University.
- College Mentor Laura Serbulea, University of Virginia.
- College Mentor Songwen Xie, Massachusetts College of Pharmacy.
After outscoring hundreds of other students on a national exam, the top 20 were invited to an intensive study camp. There, they received college-level chemistry training with an emphasis on organic chemistry via a series of lectures, problem-solving exercises, lab experiments and tests at the University of Maryland, College Park. The four highest-scoring students during the study camp make up Team USA. The next two highest-scoring students are the alternates.
ACS has sponsored the American team annually since the U.S. joined the Olympiad in 1984. Principal funding is through the ACS Donald F. and Mildred Topp Othmer Chemistry Olympiad Endowment, with additional support from other donors. For a complete list of sponsors, visit the U.S. National Chemistry Olympiad website.
The International Chemistry Olympiad originated with Czechoslovakia, Poland and Hungary in 1968. Soon, other Eastern European countries joined the event; Western Europe began participating in 1974. The first U.S. team competed in 1984, winning one silver and two bronze medals.
