International Chemistry Olympiad

International Chemistry Olympiad: Technion trained Israeli delegation wins two medals: silver and bronze

Two of the four Israeli representatives at the International Chemistry Olympiad, held last week in the city of Tbilisi in Georgia, won the silver and bronze medals. The four high school students trained at Technion-Israel Institute of Technology’s Schulich Faculty of Chemistry and practiced there in recent months. The winners are: Ron Solan of Rishonim High School in Herzliya (silver medal) and Rina Sevostianov from Makif Gimmel High School in Ashdod (bronze medal). The other team members were Ophir Shmul from the Israel Arts and Science Academy in Jerusalem and Guy Harduf from Rishonim High School in the Harod Valley.

Left to right – delegation members Ron Solan, Ophir Shmul, Rina Sevostianov and Guy Harduf, with former Georgian Ambassador to Israel Lasha Zhvania

The International Chemistry Olympiad, held for the past 48 years, is the oldest of the International Science Olympiads for high school students. Participating this year in the Olympiad in Tbilisi, Georgia, were 264 students from 66 countries. The academic challenge faced by the students in the competition included a written test and a lab experiment, in which the students were required to synthesize a substance, kinetically monitor a chemical reaction and identify unknown substances based on chemical reactions. The Israeli delegation was trained and accompanied by Prof. Zeev Gross, head of Technion’s youth programs in chemistry and faculy member in Technion’s Schulich Faculty of Chemistry and Dr. Iris Barzilai – lab engineer at the Analytical Chemistry Lab. During the training, the delegation was prepared by chief trainer Dr. Izana Nigel-Ettinger. Ms. Mira Katz, director of youth projects at the Faculty, was responsible for administration and logistics. The delegation also received considerable assistance from faculty members, doctoral students and lab engineers at the Schulich Faculty of Chemistry.

“The material that the members of the delegation were tested on in the Olympiad was very advanced, far ahead of the chemistry taught in Israeli high schools,” said Prof. Gross. “The four members of the Israeli team are outstanding among the thousands of students who participated in the screening process. The students attended intensive preparation camps to bring them to the desired level.  We are pleased that two members of the delegation – Ron and Rina – won medals, and we are very proud.”

Members of the Israeli delegation in Tbilisi – (left to right) Prof. Zeev Gross, Ophir Shmul, Rina Sevostianov, Guy Harduf, Ron Solan and Dr. Iris Barzilai