Pupils to attend Physics Olympiad in India

On Wednesday 10 June the five winners of the 34th National Physics Olympiad were announced in the University of Groningen’s Senate Chamber. The Olympiad is a competition for Group 5 and 6 students from secondary schools across the country. The winners will represent the Netherlands in the International Physics Olympiad in India from 5 to 12 July.

This year, the University of Groningen once again hosted the final of the National Physics Olympiad, between 3 and 10 June. The Olympiad is an annual competition organized by Utrecht University and the University of Groningen.

Students from across the country

The best 18 entrants were selected from the more than 3500 who took part in the qualifying round. In the final round, the students racked their brains over such challenging topics as classical mechanics, relativity theory, optics, thermodynamics and electrical engineering.

A week full of lectures and practicals culminated in a practical and a theoretical exam, each lasting four hours. The five best students have the honour of representing the Netherlands in the international final in India.

There was also time to relax during the final round, on trips to Schiermonnikoog and to Astron, the Netherlands Institute for Radioastronomy, for instance.

The five winners are:

1     Christian Primaveras, Maarn (Johan van Oldenbarnevelt Gymnasium, Amersfoort)

2     Ewoud Wempe, Groningen (Willem Lodewijk Gymnasium, Groningen)

3     David Liu, Helmond (Jan van Brabant College, Helmond)

4     Pepijn de Maat, Breukelen (Christelijk Gymnasium Utrecht)

5     Ethan van Woerkom, Bussum (Gemeentelijk Gymnasium Hilversum)

It is interesting to note that winner number two, Ewoud Wempe, initially failed to qualify for the final, but moved up the list when some other candidates pulled out, with this fantastic outcome.