Representative Office in Moscow for the Taipei-Moscow Economic and Cultural Coordination Commission (TMECCC) Welcomes the National Asian Physics Olympiad Team to Moscow
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The national team was led by Prof. Kao Hsien-Chung from the Department of Physics at National Taiwan Normal University (NTNU) and consisted of four professors and eight senior high school students from Taipei Municipal Jianguo High School, National Taichung First Senior High School, National Wu-Ling Senior High School, and National Experimental High School at Hsinchu Science Park. Getting into the national team in physics also guarantees these students admission to university to continue studying in their area of special skill.
Among the 166 participating students from 23 countries or regions participating in the competition, the Taiwan team won eight medals: two gold, one silver, and five bronze, coming second to Mainland China (eight gold medals), and the host country, the Russian Federation (four 4 gold medals). Vitaly Shevchenko, Deputy Chairman of the organizing committee of the Asian Olympiad in Physics, explained that the participants have to undergo theoretical rounds (with three tasks) and experimental rounds (with one or two tasks). After the students complete the assignment, their work is checked by the jury members and heads of national delegations. The result will be a new ranking of the candidates for the International Physics Olympiad 2017 which will be held in Indonesia.
The Asian Physics Olympiad is an intellectual competition that has been held since 2000. It is very similar to the International Physics Olympiad (IPHO), but it differs in complexity of the tasks. It is usually considered a limited competition between some of the world’s strongest national teams. Taiwan has been participating in the Asian Physics Olympiad since 2000 and has obtained a total of 59 gold medals, 41 silver medals, 38 bronze medals, and 14 honor prizes. The average ranking of the Taiwan team is 3rd, and the Taiwan team won the 1st ranking in the competitions held in 2001, 2003, and 2010.
Photo:William Lu (4th from the right), Secretary of the Education Division of the Taipei-Moscow Economic and Cultural Coordination Commission (TMECCC), and the Taiwan team participating in the XVIII Asian Physics Olympiad at a banquet in Moscow.