The International Chemistry Olympiad is an annual event where countries from throughout the world send their four best high school chemistry students to compete against each other. About 65 countries participate in the competition, which is held in a different country each year - in 2006 it was in Gyeongsan, Korea and in 2007 in Moscow, Russia. Last year, the four competitors from the U.S. team ended up with a silver medal and three bronze medals at the international competition held in Budapest, Hungary. There were sixty-five competing countries. This year the competition will be held in Cambridge, England. The selection process begins at the local level. Typically, about twenty-five High Schools from all over Orange County send as many as four students each to compete in the local section exam, which is usually held in March-April. The top eleven scorers on this exam are eligible to advance to the national round of the competition where each student takes a five-hour exam that includes extensive laboratory work. Approximately 900 students across the U.S. advance to this round. Those that score among the top twenty nationally on this test are invited to attend the Olympiad Study Camp at the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colorado. The top four at the camp will then go on to represent the U.S. at the international competition in July. Over the past twenty years, four county schools (Irvine, Sunny Hills, Troy and Valencia) have had students qualify to attend the study camp at the Air Force Academy. The 2008 Orange County ACS Olympiad Team was chosen after two days of testing March 29 and April 19, 2008. The Olympiad Team for 2008 consisted of the following students: - Katherine Fu and Astera Tang of University High School - Sachin Patel and Alexander Wu of Troy High School - Bryan Changala and Richard Hsu of Northwood High School - Joshua Chu of Marina High School - Jonathan Wang of St. Margaret's High School - Timothy Plett of El Dorado High School - Randy Rayess of Corona Del Mar High School - Danny Lee of Sage Hill High School --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Double-click on the buttons below for information on how to participate in the next Chemistry Olympiad: Click below for directions: