South Barrington student up for spot on international chemistry team

National chemistry whiz Bryce Cai, of South Barrington, has qualified to compete for one of four spots on the U.S. team bound for the 46th International Chemistry Olympiad (IChO), to be held this year at the Hanoi University of Science in Vietnam, July 20-29. The announcement was made by the American Chemical Society, sponsor of the team.

Bryce, a junior at Barrington High School, in Barrington, will spend two weeks at an intensive chemistry study camp at the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado, and at the conclusion, the top four students will be named as members of the team.

The competition to be part of the international event is fierce, beginning with a multiple-choice exam taken by nearly 16,000 high school students in the U.S. His 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, and next he will attend the study camp June 3-18.

During the camp, Bryce will receive college, and graduate-level training, with an emphasis on organic chemistry, through a series of lectures, problem-solving exercises, lab work and testing. At the camp's conclusion, four students will be chosen to represent the U.S. at the International Chemistry Olympiad, where they will compete with their peers from more than 70 nations for gold, silver and bronze medals.

The American Chemical Society has sponsored the American team annually since the U.S. joined the Olympiad. Principal funding is through the ACS Donald F. and Mildred Topp Othmer Olympiad Endowment, with additional support from the Air Force Academy; Advanced Chemistry Development; Carolina Biological Supply Company; Cengage Learning; Flinn Scientific, Inc.; Fisher Science Education; McGraw-Hill Companies; Prentice Hall Publishers; Sigma Aldrich Co.; Texas Instruments, Inc.; University Science Books and Wiley & Sons Publishers.

The American Chemical Society is a nonprofit organization chartered by the U.S. Congress. With more than 161,000 members, ACS is the world's largest scientific society and a global leader in providing access to chemistry-related research through its multiple databases, peer-reviewed journals and scientific conferences. Its main offices are in Washington, D.C., and Columbus, Ohio.

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