A 16-year-old India-born chemistry wizard will represent the United States along with three other students in the annual International Chemistry Olympiad that runs from July 20 to 29 in Azerbaijan.
Soorajnath Boominathan, a resident of Oklahoma State, has recently completed his graduation from the Oklahoma School of Science and Mathematics.
“I think that is the most amazing part of this whole experience, representing my country. It is hard to put into words what this means,” Boominathan was quoted as saying by Oklahoma-based news website NewsOK.com.
The U.S. team will compete with others from more than 70 countries for gold, silver and bronze medals, July 20-29. The American Chemical Society (ACS) is the official team sponsor.
The competition to be part of the international event is fierce, beginning with a multiple-choice exam that nearly16, 000 high school students in the U.S. took this spring. Performance on this exam earned them the opportunity to take the National Chemistry Olympiad test. Out of more than 1,000 of the nation’s brightest chemistry students who took the national test, the top 20 then went on to a two-week study camp at the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs. At the conclusion, the U.S. team and two alternates were named.
Subjects include organic chemistry, inorganic chemistry, physical chemistry, analytical chemistry and biochemistry.