Congratulations to the USA team of the International Olympiad in Astronomy and Astrophysics for their success in the 2019 annual competition!
From the 2nd through the 10th of August, Keszthely, Hungary was home to the 13th International Olympiad on Astronomy and Astrophysics (IOAA). Hosting more than 300 high school students across 46 countries, it was the largest Olympiad since its inauguration in 2007. Student participants competed in four different exams, which included theoretical astronomy, data analysis, observational astronomy, and a team competition.
The AAVSO has been a partner and supporter of the IOAA USA team since 2015. This year's team of students, accompanied by two team leaders from universities, were on trend with USA’s past results at the Olympiad by once again surpassing their previous year’s record. This year, this feat resulted in winning an impressive array of two gold medals, two silver, four bronze, and one honorable mention. In addition, one of the USA students won Best Poster, and another USA student won Best Data Analysis!
The USA IOAA team needs help with relief of their 2019 expenses. If you would like to contribute directly to this team, please visit: https://www.gofundme.com/f/team-usa-to-attend-the-ioaa-2019.
The Participants and their Achievements
Main team:
Joseph McCarty (Lubbock High School, TX)—gold medal
Vincent Bian (Poolesville High School, MD)—gold medal & Best Data Analysis
Albert Qin (Mira Loma High School, CA)—bronze medal
Daniel Chang (North Hollywood High School, CA)—bronze medal
Anthony Ou (Carmel High School, IN)—bronze medal
Guest team:
April Cheng (Canyon Crest Academy, CA)—silver medal
Sean Chen (Canyon Crest Academy, CA)—bronze medal
Dean Zhou (Clear Lake High School, TX)—honorable mention
Devin Hoover (Poolesville High School, MD)—Best Poster
Leo Yao (West Windsor Plainsboro High School North, NJ)—silver medal
Team Leaders:
Ioana Zelko (Harvard University)
Natasa Dragovic (University of Texas at Austin)
Once again, congratulations to the USA team and all the other IOAA 2019 competitors!
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