After three years of postponed or virtual competitions due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the 53rd International Physics Olympiad (IPhO) was held in person in Tokyo from 10 July to 17 July. Nearly 400 high school students from 84 countries and territories participated in a competition that challenged them to solve problems in theoretical and experimental physics.
The top scorer was Bowen Yu of China. He and three of his teammates earned the top four spots. Along with the award for highest score, prizes were also conferred for the best performances in the theoretical and experimental parts of the competition. The theoretical section winners were US competitor Feodor Yevtushenko from Irvine, California, and Hanhong Zhao of China. The experimental section winner was US competitor Collin Fan from Lincolnshire, Illinois.
A total of 37 gold medals were awarded to individuals from 14 countries and territories. All five members of the team from China took home gold medals, as did all the members of the South Korean team and a group of participants from Russia who did not officially represent their country. Fan, Yevtushenko, Evan Kim (Redmond, Washington), and Zian Shi (Fresno, California) earned gold medals for the US, and Shuoyan Chen (Fullerton, California) earned a silver medal. The US team is sponsored by the American Association of Physics Teachers, the American Institute of Physics (which publishes Physics Today), and other AIP member societies.
For the experimental component of the competition, students constructed and used harmonic oscillators to determine mass and measured crystal thickness via birefringence. In the theory part, students answered questions about neutron stars, the characterization of soil colloids, and interactions involving water, such as the forces acting on two rods floating on a water surface.
When they weren’t competing, students visited the KEK particle-physics laboratory, shopped at markets in Tokyo’s Asakusa district, and participated in Japanese cultural activities, such as tea ceremonies and origami. Nobel laureates Makoto Kobayashi, Takaaki Kajita, and Hiroshi Amano spoke to the participants.
Isfahan, Iran, will host the 54th International Physics Olympiad next summer.
