| Media Contacts: | |
| Maureen Palmer, CEE, 703-448-9062 ext. 224 | |
| Phillip Fiorini, 765-496-3133 |
McLean, VA– May 15, 2014 – The Center for Excellence in Education (CEE) announces twenty top high school students who will participate in the twelfth Annual USA Biology Olympiad (USABO) National Finals, from June 1-15, at Purdue University.
Finalists were selected based on their scores from the USABO Open and Semifinal Exams. Nearly, 10,500 talented students registered nationally for the USABO. This marks the fifth consecutive year that Purdue has co-sponsored the finals with CEE.
“CEE is honored to sponsor the USABO with Purdue University and to train high school scholars in practical and theoretical biology,” said Joann DiGennaro, President of CEE. “It is exciting to nurture these high school students for success at the national competition at Purdue and the upcoming international competition in Indonesia.
The USABO national finalists will gather at Purdue to compete for U.S. medals. The top four medalists will participate July 6-13 at the International Biology Olympiad (IBO) in Bali, Indonesia. The IBO is a worldwide competition involving students from 63 countries.
Ms. Kathy Frame, Director of the USABO and Special Projects, Center for Excellence in Education and Dr. Clark Gedney, Director, Bio Media Center for Instructional Design, Purdue University manage the administration of the USABO.
During the two weeks at Purdue, the finalists will participate in intensive theoretical and practical tutorials. The high school students will study with leading U.S. biologists who are experts in the fields of cellular & molecular biology, plant anatomy & physiology, animal anatomy & physiology, ethology, genetics & evolution, ecology, ethology, and biosystematics.
At the conclusion of the two weeks, the students take two exams - a practical and a theoretical. The four highest scoring students will be named Team USA 2014 and will represent the United States at the IBO. Air travel to the IBO is provided courtesy of Korean Air, the official airline of the USA Biology Olympiad.
The 2014 USA Biology Olympiad national finalists are:
California
- Kevin Bao, Troy High School, Fullerton
- Nithin Buduma, Lynbrook High School, San Jose
- Jeff Chow, Cambridge Educational Institute, Chinos Hills
- Jackie Osaki, Santa Monica High School, Santa Monica
- Aneesh Samineni, The King’s Academy, Sunnyvale
- Austin Wang, Flintridge Preparatory School, La Canada Flintridge, CA
- Catherine Wu, Canyon Crest, San Diego
- Zhongxia Yan, Davis Senior High School, Davis
Indiana
- Boyang Dun, Canterbury School, Fort Wayne
Minnesota
- Varun Mangalick, Mounds View High School, Arden Hills
New Jersey
- Grace Chen, Bridgewater-Raritan Regional High School, Bridgewater
- Michael Gao, Freehold High School, Freehold
New York
- Erin Kim, Kappa Academy, Bayside
North Carolina
- Peter Luo, William G. Enloe High School, Raleigh
Oregon
- Abhijit Mudigonda, Westview High School, Portland
Texas
- Siddarth Guha, Dulles High School, Sugar Land
Virginia
- William Long, Thomas Jefferson High School for Science & Technology, Alexandria
Washington
- Yilun Du, Pullman High School, Pullman
- Ming Liu, Mountain View High School, Vancouver
- Peter Lu, Mountain View School, Vancouver
About the Center for Excellence in Education
The Center for Excellence in Education was founded in 1983 by the late Admiral H.G. Rickover and Joann P. DiGennaro, President of the Center. The Center's mission is to nurture high school and university scholars to careers of excellence and leadership in science, technology, engineering and mathematics, and to encourage collaboration between and among leaders in the global community. CEE sponsors the Research Science Institute (RSI), the USA Biology Olympiad (USABO), and the Teacher Enrichment Program (TEP).
Sources:
Kathy Frame, 571-228-0098
Clark Gedney, 765-494-0157
Related websites:
USA Biology Olympiad: http://www.cee.org/usa-biology-olympiad-usabo
Center for Excellence in Education: http://www.cee.org/
Purdue College of Science: https://www.science.purdue.edu/
Discovery Park: http://www.purdue.edu/dp/
International Biology Olympiad: http://www.ibo-info.org