St. Louis Student MAKES US Chemistry Olympiad Team

 National chemistry whiz Runpeng Liu of St. Louis will be one of four students representing the United States at the International Chemistry Olympiad (IChO) in Moscow, July 15-24. The announcement was made by the American Chemical Society, sponsor of the U.S. team.  

     

Runpeng recently graduated from Ladue Horton Watkins High School. He was identified as one of the top 20 chemistry students in the nation in 2012 and 2013; he is now one of the top four. As a member of the U.S. team, he will compete with students from more than 70 other countries for gold, silver and bronze medals.

The competition to be part of the international event is fierce; beginning with a three-part exam taken by at least 12,000 high school students in the U.S. Rungpeng’s performance on this exam earned him 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, he advanced to the top 20. Those students just completed a rigorous two-week study camp at the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, where Runpeng emerged as one of the top four named to the U.S. team.

The International Chemistry Olympiad originated with Czechoslovakia, Poland, and Hungary in 1968.  Soon, other Eastern European countries joined the event; Western Europe began participating in 1974.  The first U.S. team competed in 1984, winning one silver and two bronze medals.