US brings home gold at the 56th International Chemistry Olympiad

As water polo and rugby sevens matches were starting at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, the closing ceremony for the 56th International Chemistry Olympiad (IChO), which took place July 21–30, was being held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, and live streamed on YouTube. “The past few days have been a testament of the power of scientific curiosity, innovation, and collaboration,” Badr Almajrathi, chairman of the IChO’s organizing committee, said in his opening remarks at the ceremony. Four high school students and their mentors represented the US at the event. This year’s team consisted of Anant Asthana from John Foster Dulles High School in Texas, Yufei Chen from University High School in California, Yunyi Ling from Montgomery Blair High School in Maryland, and Alice Liu from Marquette High School in Missouri. The team had been selected after an intensive 2 week study camp held at the University of Maryland, College Park.