2002 School Magazine

IYPT student stories

In March 2002 a team from Brisbane Girls Grammar School and a team from Fairholme College. Toowoomba competed to earn the right to represent Australia at the 15th IYPT in the city of Odessa in the Ukraine. After a fantastic competition Brisbane Girls Grammar School narrowly defeated Fairholme College. The Australian Team that travelled to Odessa consisted of Lucy MCKenzie Geordie Shannon, Priya Cherian, Shehara Mendis and July 52e

International Young Physicists Tournament The international Young Physicists Tournament 11YPTj was created fifteen Years ago in the USSR to foster scientific research and improve international communication in physics. The tournament 15 held annually with numerous countries participating. Unlike most other science competitions for high school students, the competition is team based with an emphasis on research. experimentat10n and problem solving, notjust knowledge of physics. it promotes good presentation. communication and debating skills and improves students' abilities to work as a team In October 2001, the seventeen complex problems that will form the basis of the competition are released Teams research these problems both theoretically and experimentalIy to produce the best solution possible There is 00 perfect solution to any of the problems and some are even currently being researched at universities

Lucy reports

"Five students, two teachers, seventeen physics problems, one destination - international Young Physicists Tournament 2002. Odessa, Ukraine. it was an amazing opportunity, and an even more amazing experience. There's 00 denying the physics was tough - round after round of tough teams, complex experiments and the longest mathematical formulae we'd ever seen But we made it. and our understanding of physics. our mathematical ability and our skills in public speaking all benefited from Not only that, but we formed dozens of international friendships, discovered Odessa city and came face to face with a huge number of Babushka dolls. We also worked on our language skills, picking up about a sentence worth of Russian and three Ukrainian words. whilst learning to speak our own language at about half speed at the request of the competition'sjurors it was a truly amazing seven days; challenging. competitive, but most Importantly Incredibly enjoyable. Coming home was extremely tough. but attending 15 something I would not swap for the world. IYPT was an invaluable experience. and one 1'11 most certainly never forget. "

Iucy MCKenzie. Coptoin of the 2002 Australian IYPI Team

The team finished with a joint third position In the event behind the winning team of Poland. Lucy MCKenzie also finished with fourth position in the individual rankings. A truly outstanding result!

Mr A. A1finson

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