Congratulations to Lakeside High School students Vishnu Mangipudi, and William Wang, who are among the top 20 finalists selected to participate in the 2025 Chemistry Olympiad Study camp. From June 2-13, the 20 students will be attending a camp at the University of Maryland and will compete for the top 4 spots to represent the USA team at the 57th International Chemistry Olympiad (July 5-14 in the United Arab Emirates).
The Puget Sound Section has proudly sponsored the local Olympiad for over 30 years under the direction of Dr. Clarita Bhat (Coordinator), and several other volunteers with support from the administration at Shoreline and more recently Bellevue College. Students from area schools take a preliminary test followed by a full day exam for the top 13 students. ACS selects the top 20 students nationwide from the full day exam to attend the camp.
Our local section has done a great job, increasing the number of students taking the exam from under 50 just 3 years ago to over 100 in 2025. This is good news for STEM education in the Puget Sound Region. A few years ago, one student from the local section advanced to the Study camp and placed 5th overall making them an alternate on the USA team. Having 2 students advance from one local section is a rare and historic event for our local section.
Thank you to all the high school science/chemistry teachers and our local Olympiad Coordinator and volunteers for their efforts to advance STEM and in particular chemistry education in our region.
The Puget Sound Section wishes Vishnu and William good luck at the camp.
For more information, visit the US National Chemistry Olympiad website at www.acs.org/olympiad