Indian Students shines Gold & Silver Medals at International Physics, Chemistry Olympiad

Indian students have delivered outstanding performances at international science competitions, securing a total of three gold medals and five silver medals. Their achievements at the 54th International Physics Olympiad and the 56th International Chemistry Olympiad highlight India's growing prowess in global science education.

Indian students have achieved remarkable success at the 54th International Physics Olympiad (IPhO) 2024, held from July 21 to July 29 in Isfahan, Iran. The Indian team secured two gold medals and three silver medals, with Rhythm Kedia from Raipur and Ved Lahoti from Indore both earning gold medals. Silver medals were awarded to Akarsh Raj Sahay from Nagpur, Bhavya Tiwari from Noida, and Jaiveer Singh from Kota.

India finished in fourth place overall, tied with Vietnam. The top three positions were claimed by China, Russia, and Romania, respectively. The IPhO saw participation from 193 students across 43 countries, with a total of 18 gold, 35 silver, and 53 bronze medals awarded.

Competition Highlights

The five-hour theoretical component of the IPhO featured problems on global warming models, ion trapping using the Paul trap, and dynamics of binary star systems. The experimental section involved tasks on heat conduction through a copper rod and diffraction from phase steps.

According to an official release, India’s consistent performance at the IPhO, with a track record of 41% gold, 42% silver, 11% bronze, and 6% honorable mentions over the past 25 years, underscores the country’s commitment to excellence in science education. In the last decade alone, Indian students have achieved 46% gold and 52% silver medals.

The Indian delegation was led by Prof. Deepak Garg (DAV College, Chandigarh) and Dr. Shirish Pathare (HBCSE, TIFR), with Prof. AC Biyani (Retd, Govt Nagarjuna Post Graduate College of Science, Raipur) and Prof. Vivek Bhide (Gogate-Jogalekar College, Ratnagiri) serving as Scientific Observers.

Achievements at the 56th International Chemistry Olympiad

At the 56th International Chemistry Olympiad (IChO) 2024, held from July 21 to July 30 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, the Indian team also performed admirably. The team won one gold, one bronze, and two silver medals. Devesh from Jalgaon earned the gold, while Avaneesh from Kota and Harshin from Hyderabad secured silver medals, and Kashyap from Mumbai won bronze.

Details of the Chemistry Competition

The IChO competition featured both experimental and theoretical components. The experimental tasks included identifying pH transitions of acid-base indicator dyes using thin layer chromatography (TLC) and performing mass-based titrations of potassium permanganate. The theoretical examination included problems related to semiconductor metal oxides, neurotransmitter production, synthetic routes to penicillin, and polymer formation mechanisms.

The Chemistry Olympiad team was accompanied by Prof. Gulshanara Shaikh (Head Mentor), formerly of St. Xavier’s College, Mumbai; Dr. Shraeddha Tiwari (Mentor), Assistant Professor at ICT, Mumbai; Prof. Seema Gupta (Scientific Observer) from Acharya Narendra Dev College, Delhi; and Dr. Amrit Mitra (Scientific Observer) from Govt. General Degree College, Singur (WB).

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