Shen of ORHS participating in USA Biology Olympiad Finals

Henry Shen of Oak Ridge High School is among 20 students participating in the USA Biology Olympiad National Finals in California.

The Center for Excellence in Education announced Shen’s participation in the 17th Annual USA Biology Olympiad National Finals. The competition is hosted by the University of California 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 anthedo campus,” said Kit Pogliano, ean 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.”

The finalists, including Shen, are participating from June 22 to July 6 at UC San Diego for 10 days of biology instruction that includes laboratory training and conceptual understanding, followed by two days of testing, a press release said.

“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 press release said.

“The mission of the USA Biology Olympiad 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 Center for Excellence in Education. “These students are some of the highest-achieving biology students in the USA.”

More than 10,000 talented students from across the country registered for the USA Biology Olympiad, the press release said. Nearly 600 were selected as semi-finalists. The 20 National Finalists were selected following completion of a three-part, two-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, manager, USA Biology Olympiad.

The 20 students participating in the 2019 USA Biology Olympiad National Finals are:

California

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

Indiana

• Suhas P. Chundi—Carmel High School, Carmel
• Brian Joshua Zhang—Carmel High School, Carmel

Illinois

• Eric Wang—Naperville North High School, Naperville

Massachusetts

• Leon Fan—Belmont High School, Belmont
• Christopher Wang—Acton-Boxborough Regional High School, Acton

Michigan

• Jason Zhang—Troy High School, Troy

Minnesota

• Kimberly Shen—Mounds View High School, Arden Hills

New Jersey

• Richard Y. Chai—West Windsor-Plainsboro High School South, Princeton Junction
• Kaivalya Hariharan—Ridge High School, Basking Ridge
• Atharv Oak—West Windsor-Plainsboro High School South, Princeton Junction
• Lakshay Sood—Academy for Allied Health and Biomedical Sciences, Woodbridge
• John J. Yang—Princeton High School, Princeton

New York

• Saleha Mir—City Honors School at Fosdick-Masten Park, Buffalo

Tennessee

• Henry Shen—Oak Ridge High School, Oak Ridge

Texas

• Nithin Parsan—Clements High School, Sugar Land

Washington

• Sagarika Samavedi—Interlake High School, Bellevue

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, the USA Biology Olympiad, and the Teacher Enrichment Program. Visit www.cee.org for more information.

More information will be added as it becomes available.

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