Team India sparkles at fifth astro Olympiad in Poland

Even as India has secured the first rank in the International Olympiad in Astronomy & Astrophysics for yet another year,this is the countrys best performance so far.

Even as India has secured the first rank in the International Olympiad in Astronomy & Astrophysics (IOAA) for yet another year,this is the countrys best performance so far. Jeevana Priya from India was the only female student this year who secured a gold at IOAA and also the first girl from India to do so in this competition.

My aim was to win a gold for my country and I am happy I have achieved it despite the tough competition. There is a lot of development currently in astro-physics and theres much more to discover. I want to pursue it at the Masters level. I am intrigued by the subject and theres a lot to find out about the origin of our universe and how stars work,among other aspects, said Priya,who has taken up science in Class XII. She also received a special prize for the best performance in the theoretical round.

This year we topped the medal tally with one silver,one bronze and three gold medals. This makes it Indias best performance so far. Last year too,India had stood first in the medal tally,but we got three gold and two bronze medals. Besides,our students also secured special prizes in the practical and theoretical rounds this year, said Aniket Sule,academic coordinator,astronomy Olympiad,from the Homi Bhabha Centre for Science Education (HBCSE) in Mumbai.

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The fifth IOAA was held in Krakow & Katowice cities of Polands Silesia region from August 25 to September 3. A five-member student team represented India,comprising Priya,Sharad Mirani (gold),Akshay Krishna (gold),R Sasibhushan Bharadwaj (silver) and Akhil Kedia (bronze). Krishna was also awarded a special prize for the best performance in the practical round. In the group competition round,introduced this year,India secured the second rank.

I developed an interest in astronomy from Class IX,but it was only last year that I came to know about the Olympiad. Besides the things that I got to learn,the best part were the people. One gets to meet like-minded students from so many countries. It has broadened my horizon, said Kedia,a first-year student of computer science and engineering at IIT Delhi.

HBCSE,the coordinator for science and astronomy Olympiads in the country,said the reason why India has been performing consistently well at IOAA is because the selected students are passionate about the subject and are taught everything from scratch. We try to select students who have a mindset for pure science and astronomy. Further,since astronomy is not part of the school curriculum,students come with a fresh mind and dont have pre-conceived notions. They are taught everything at HBCSE, said Mayank Vahia,national coordinator,astronomy Olympiad,HBCSE.

Agrees Mirani,who attributes his interest in the subject to the Olympiad. The bulk of the preparation is done at the two camps in HBCSE. Its the Olympiad which has helped me get an in-depth understanding of astrophysics. It has triggered my interest in the subject and I want to pursue it as a career, he said.

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Team India sparkles at fifth astro Olympiad in Poland

Even as India has secured the first rank in the International Olympiad in Astronomy & Astrophysics for yet another year,this is the countrys best performance so far.

Even as India has secured the first rank in the International Olympiad in Astronomy & Astrophysics for yet another year,this is the countrys best performance so far.