Talented physics youngsters
The Swiss team was awarded one bronze medal and four honorable mentions at the International Physics Olympiad (IPhO) 2016, which took place in Zurich from 11 to 17 July. Some 400 students from 84 countries participated in the competition.
At the IPhO, the best are awarded — but perhaps even more valuable is the exchange across borders, and sharing an enthusiasm for physics. And many of the participants will meet again in the future, somewhere in the world.
The event was hosted by the University of Zurich (UZH), in collaboration with the Association of Swiss Scientific Olympiads and the education authority (Schulamt) Liechtenstein. In the organization of the event, with a total of about 1000 persons involved, many former participants with ETH affiliation had key roles and contributed to the success of IPhO 2016: external page Simon Birrer as a Chairman of IPhO 2016, which was co-chaired with Prof. Michael Hengartner, President of UZH. Head of the academic committee was Dr. Thomas Uehlinger. Michele Dolfi lead the IT and developement of Exam tools. Prof. Christoph Keller was the main author of one theoretical problem. Many other PhDs and students of ETH participated as volunteers in the academic committee and as team guides for various delegations.
