U.S. Flag Waves Proudly With Gold Medal Wins at the International Biology Olympiad

MCLEAN, Va. - July 21, 2015 - PRLog -- The Center for Excellence in Education (CEE) announces all Team USA members were awarded Gold Medals at the 26th International Biology Olympiad (IBO) held in Aarhus, Denmark.

The United States Gold Medalists are:

·  Grace Chen, Bridgewater-Raritan Regional High School, Bridgewater, New Jersey

·  Yilun Du, Pullman High School, Pullman, Washington

·  Boyang (Peter) Dun, Canterbury School, Fort Wayne, Indiana

·  Varun Mangalick, Mounds View High School, Arden Hills, Minnesota

Team USA Member, Boyang (Peter) Dun, also placed Second in the World for individual scores at the International Biology Olympiad.

“Team USA honored the United States at the International Biology Olympiad with receipt of four Gold Medals” said Joann DiGennaro, President of CEE. “Peter, Varun, Grace, and Yilun garnered world recognition with their academic excellence.  They are exceptional academic scholars that are headed for outstanding careers in science.”

Nearly 10,500 U.S. students from across the U.S. registered for the highly competitive USABO. Twenty finalists from 10 states were selected to compete at the USABO Finals at Purdue University for their scores from the open and semifinal exams.  Finalists also participated in lectures, study sessions and laboratory exercises led by biology experts in fields that include cellular & molecular biology, plant anatomy & physiology, animal anatomy & physiology, genetics & evolution, ecology, ethology, and biosystematics.  This marks the sixth consecutive year that Purdue has co-sponsored the finals with CEE.

Kathy Frame, Director of the USABO and Special Projects for CEE, and Seungsoo Kim, IBO’08 and ’09 Gold Medalist at the International Biology Olympiad and graduate student in Genome Sciences at the University of Washington School of Medicine, accompanied Team USA.

Frame was elected by her fellow jurors to serve on Denmark’s Host Committee for the 2015 IBO.  This committee reviewed the practical and the theoretical examinations which focused on the quality of the questions in terms of scientific correctness and conceptual formulation.  She was invited to participate in the Subgroup for IBO 2016 Hanoi, Vietnam.

About the Center for Excellence in Education

The Center for Excellence in Education was founded in 1983 by the late Admiral H.G. Rickover and Joann P. DiGennaro, President of the Center. The Center's mission is to nurture high school and university scholars to careers of excellence and leadership in science, technology, engineering and mathematics, and to encourage collaboration between and among leaders in the global community. CEE sponsors the Research Science Institute (RSI), the USA Biology Olympiad (USABO), and the Teacher Enrichment Program (TEP). For more information about the Center and its programs, visit CEE’s Web site, www.cee.org

About Team USA at the International Biology Competitions

CEE is proud that every U.S. team member has medaled in the International Biology Competition since 2003, bringing home 42 gold, 8 silver, and 2 bronze medals.  Team USA achieved the coveted “Number 1 Position in the World” in 2011 and 2013.