High School Students Participate in USA Biology Olympiad Finals

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McLean, VA (June 27, 2019) – The Center for Excellence in Education (CEE) announced the high school biology scholars who are participating in the 17th Annual USA Biology Olympiad (USABO) National Finals. The USABO is hosted by UC San Diego on its campus.

“We look forward to hosting the USA Biology Olympiad finalists, and welcome the energy and drive that these stellar students bring to this national event and to campus,” said Kit Pogliano, Dean of UC San Diego’s Division of Biological Sciences. “The biological research and teaching facilities at UC San Diego and our surrounding institutions provide an ideal location to host this program, and to prepare biology superstars from around the country for the international competition.”

Twenty finalists are participating June 22 to July 6 at UC San Diego for 10 days of biology instruction inclusive of laboratory training and conceptual understanding followed by two days of testing. Ultimately, four students will be competitively chosen to represent the USA at the 30th Annual International Biology Olympiad in Szeged, Hungary from July 14 to July 21, 2019.

“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,” said Joann DiGennaro, President of CEE. “These students are some of the highest achieving biology students in the USA,” she added.

Approximately 10,000 talented students from across the country registered for the USABO. Nearly 600 were selected as semi-finalists. The 20 National Finalists were selected following completion of a three-part, 2-hour exam in March.

 “UC San Diego has world class research faculty and facilities. For high school USABO finalists to have the opportunity to experience this level of research excellence at a university is really a privilege,” said Kakoli Mitra, Ph.D., J.D. Manager, USA Biology Olympiad (USABO).

The 20 students selected to participate in the 2019 USA Biology Olympiad National Finals are:

2019 USA Biology Olympiad National Finalists

California
Joseph Philemon Dong, Troy High School, Fullerton, CA
Charles Huang, Lynbrook High School, San Jose, CA
Kameel Khabaz, Fairmont Preparatory Academy, Anaheim, CA 
Albert Zhang, North Hollywood Senior High School, North Hollywood, CA

Indiana
Suhas P. Chundi, Carmel High School, Carmel, IN
Brian Joshua Zhang, Carmel High School, Carmel, IN

Illinois

Eric Wang, Naperville North High School, Naperville, IL

Massachusetts
Leon Fan, Belmont High School, Belmont, MA
Christopher Wang, Acton-Boxborough Regional High School, Acton, MA

Michigan
Jason Zhang, Troy High School, Troy, MI

Minnesota
Kimberly Shen, Mounds View High School, Arden Hills, MN

New Jersey
Richard Y. Chai, West Windsor Plainsboro HS South, Princeton Junction, NJ
Kaivalya Hariharan, Ridge High School, Basking Ridge, NJ
Atharv Oak, West Windsor Plainsboro HS South, Princeton Junction, NJ
Lakshay Sood, Academy for Allied Health and Biomedical Sciences, Woodbridge, NJ
John Jingxuan Yang, Princeton High School, Princeton, NJ

New York
Saleha Mir, City Honors School at Fosdick-Masten Park, Buffalo, NY

Tennessee
Henry Shen, Oak Ridge High School, Oak Ridge, TN

Texas
Nithin Parsan, Clements High School, Sugar Land, TX

Washington
Sagarika Samavedi, Interlake High School, Bellevue, WA

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’s programs include the Research Science Institute (RSI), the USA Biology Olympiad (USABO), and the Teacher Enrichment Program (TEP). Visit www.cee.org.

About UC San Diego
At the University of California San Diego, we constantly push boundaries and challenge expectations. Established in 1960, UC San Diego has been shaped by exceptional scholars who aren’t afraid to take risks and redefine conventional wisdom. Today, as one of the top 15 research universities in the world, we are driving innovation and change to advance society, propel economic growth and make our world a better place. Learn more at www.ucsd.edu

Media Contacts: Tom Flavell, CEE, (703) 448-9062 ext. 237
  Mario AguileraUC San Diego, (858) 822-5148
USABO Contacts: Kakoli Mitra, CEE, (703) 448-9062 ext. 231
  Kathy Frame, CEE, (571) 228-0098


Related websites:
USA Biology Olympiad: http://www.cee.org/usa-biology-olympiad-usabo
Center for Excellence in Education: http://www.cee.org
UC San Diego: https://ucsd.edu/
International Biology Olympiad: http://www.ibo2019.org/