The four — plus two alternates — were selected at the conclusion of a rigorous two-week training camp earlier this month. The American Chemical Society, the world's largest scientific society, sponsors the program.
A strong competitor over the years, the U.S. team achieved "best in the world" status in 1999 with three gold medals, including the top gold and one silver. An American team member also won the top gold medal in 2000.
The four students and alternates are from Chattanooga and Cookeville, Tenn.; State College, Pa.; Redondo Beach, Calif.; Naperville, Ill.; and Ann Arbor, Mich. More than 10,000 high school students nationwide took local exams hoping to win a slot on the Olympiad team. From those exams, twenty students were selected to attend a two- week study camp at the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado where they received college-level training, with an emphasis on organic chemistry, through a series of lectures, problem-solving exercises, lab work and testing. The final team members and alternates were chosen from those attending the study camp.
The International Chemistry Olympiad originated with Czechoslovakia, Poland and Hungary in 1968. Other eastern European countries soon joined the event, and Western Europe began participating in 1974. The first U.S. team competed in 1984, winning one silver and two bronze medals.
The American Chemical Society has sponsored the American team annually since the United States joined the Olympiad. Principal funding is through the Society's Othmer Olympiad Endowment, with additional support from the U.S. Air Force Academy; IBM Research; Merck Publishing Group; Texas Instruments, Inc.; W.H. Freeman & Company; McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.; Advanced Chemistry Development; Thomson, Bruce/Cole; and Fisher Scientific.
The four-member team and two alternates are:
Eric Brown, Chattanooga, Tenn. — He will be a senior next fall at McCallie School in Chattanooga. He has worked for Habitat for Humanity, helping to build two houses over the past two years. Since the seventh grade, Eric has been a member of his school swim team, which has won five state titles during that period. He is the son of Phil and Jackie Brown.
Wei-Han "Bobby" Lieu, Cookeville, Tenn. — He recently graduated from Cookeville High School and will be attending Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the fall. He plans to major in either chemistry or chemical engineering. Bobby was a U.S. Physics Team semifinalist, a USA Math Olympiad qualifier, a USA Biology Olympiad semifinalist and captain of the 6th place team at the National Science Bowl. Bobby attended the 2002 Olympiad Study Camp. He is the son of Yung-Way and Chung-Yuan Liu.
Frances Hocutt, Redondo Beach, Calif. — She recently graduated from Redondo Union High School and will be attending Harvey Mudd College this fall, where she plans to major in chemistry. Frances was editor of the High Tide, her school newspaper. She placed fourth in the Los Angeles County Academic Decathlon, was a National Merit finalist and made the honor roll all four years in high school. She was part of the Science Olympiad at local and state levels, and placed fourth in local competition for the Science Bowl, and participated in the 2002 Olympiad Study Camp. She is the daughter of Anne Fay and John Hocutt.
Benjamin Kaduk, Naperville, Ill. — He recently graduated from Naperville North High School and will be attending the University of Illinois in the fall, where he plans to major in chemistry. An individual state champion in math and the Worldwide Youth in Science and Engineering (WYSE) competition, Ben was a member of the state math championship team for four years and the state WYSE team for two years. In addition, he was the highest scoring student in the American Scholastic Mathematics Association national exam for Illinois and was a National Merit finalist. He is the son of James and Catherine Kaduk.
Jaline Gerardin, first alternate, State College, Pa. — She recently graduated from State College Area High School and will attend Harvard University in the fall, where she plans to major in one of the physical sciences. Jaline has been a semifinalist for the Seimens Westinghouse award, Intel Science Talent Search, and National Physics Olympiad and placed second in the National French Exam. She has earned five national and 15 state Science Olympiad medals and has been a National Quiz Bowl all-star. She is the daughter of Wen-Ching Li and Paul Gerardin.
Chaoyuan "Charlie" Kuang, second alternate, Ann Arbor, Mich. — He recently graduated from Huron High School and next fall will attend Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he plans to major in either chemistry or biochemistry. Charlie, a participant in the 2002 study camp, was a National Merit finalist, was named to the National Honor Roll two consecutive years, and was a member of the National Society of High School Scholars. He also was designated as one of the top 50 students in the Michigan mathematics prize competition. He is the son of Zhian Kuang and Pei-Zhen Yang.