High School Students Selected to Participate in the 13th USA Biology Olympiad Finals
at Purdue University
McLean, VA– May 14, 2015 – The Center for Excellence in Education (CEE) announces that twenty top high school students from this nation will attend Purdue University from May 31 to June 12 for the thirteenth Annual USA Biology Olympiad (USABO) National Finals. Students will participate in 10 days of biology instruction inclusive of laboratory training and conceptual understanding followed by two days of testing to determine the four members of Team USA.
Finalists from ten states were selected based on their scores from the USABO Open and Semifinal Exams. Nearly, 10,500 talented students registered nationally for the USABO. The mission of the USABO is to encourage excellence in biology education throughout the United States and to challenge students and their teachers to reach the gold standard in biology.
“CEE is proud to partner with Purdue University to train the USABO National Finalists in practical and theoretical biology,” said Joann DiGennaro, President of CEE. “These are the highest achieving biology students across this country, and it is exciting to nurture them during the national competition and to prepare them for the international competition in Denmark.”
The USABO national finalists will gather at Purdue to compete for U.S. medals. This marks the sixth consecutive year that Purdue has co-sponsored the finals with CEE. The top four medalists will participate July 12-19 at the International Biology Olympiad (IBO) in Aarhaus, Denmark. The IBO is a competitive event where students, ages 14 to 19, from all over the world compete on their knowledge of biology.
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.
While 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, 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 2015 and will represent the United States at the international competition.
The National Finalists going to Purdue for the 2015 USA Biology Olympiad are:
| California |
| Kevin Bao, Troy High School, Fullerton |
| Marcello Kendrew Chang, Mira Loma High School, Sacramento |
| Rowan Ting Cheung, Santa Monica High School, Santa Monica |
| Jordan Elizabeth Docter, Santa Monica High School, Santa Monica |
| Aneesh Samineni, The King’s Academy, Sunnyvale |
| Zilu Lu Pan, Canyon Crest High School, San Diego |
| Kentaro Tanaka, Santa Clara High School, Santa Clara |
| Maxwell Lu Zhu, Cambridge Educational Institute, Chino Hills |
| Delaware |
| David Li Xu, The Charter School of Wilmington, Wilmington |
| Indiana |
| Boyang Dun, Canterbury School, Fort Wayne |
| Massachusetts |
| Jueun Lee, Lexington High School, Lexington |
| Michigan |
| David Wei Wu, Troy High School, Troy |
| 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 |
| Roger Jin, West Windsor Plainsboro High School North, Plainsboro |
| David Kang Myung Yang, Bergen County Academies, Hackensack |
| Texas |
| Siddarth Guha, Dulles High School, Sugar Land |
| Virginia |
| Neeraj Prasad, Thomas Jefferson High School for Science & Technology, Alexandria |
| Washington |
| Yilun Du, Pullman High School, Pullman |
About the Center for Excellence in Education
The Center for Excellence in Education was founded in 1983 by the late Admiral H.G. River 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).
| Media Contacts | |
| Maureen Palmer, 703-448-9062 ext. 224 | |
| Phillip Fiorini, 765-496-3133 |
| 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