USA Biology Olympiad 2014 National Finalists

McLean, VA, May 23, 2014 --(PR.com)-- The Center for Excellence in Education (CEE) announces twenty top high school students have been selected to participate in the twelfth Annual USA Biology Olympiad (USABO) National Finals, from June 1-15, at Purdue University.

Finalists were selected based on their scores from the USABO Open and Semifinal Exams. Nearly, 10,500 talented students registered nationally for the USABO. This marks the fifth consecutive year that Purdue has co-sponsored the finals with CEE.

“CEE is honored to sponsor the USABO with Purdue University and to train high school scholars in practical and theoretical biology,” said Joann DiGennaro, President of CEE. “It is exciting to nurture these high school students for success at the national competition at Purdue and the upcoming international competition in Indonesia.

The USABO national finalists will gather at Purdue to compete for U.S. medals. The top four medalists will participate July 6-13 at the International Biology Olympiad (IBO) in Bali, Indonesia. The IBO is a worldwide competition involving students from 63 countries.

Ms. Kathy Frame, Director of the USABO and Special Projects, Center for Excellence in Education and Dr. Clark Gedney, Director, Bio Media Center for Instructional Design, Purdue University manage the administration of the USABO.

During the two weeks at Purdue, the finalists will participate in intensive theoretical and practical tutorials. The high school students will study with leading U.S. biologists who are experts in the fields of cellular & molecular biology, plant anatomy & physiology, animal anatomy & physiology, ethology, genetics & evolution, ecology, ethology, and biosystematics.

At the conclusion of the two weeks, the students take two exams - a practical and a theoretical. The four highest scoring students will be named Team USA 2014 and will represent the United States at the IBO. Air travel to the IBO is provided courtesy of Korean Air, the official airline of the USA Biology Olympiad.

The 2014 USA Biology Olympiad national finalists are:

California
Kevin Bao, Troy High School, Fullerton
Nithin Buduma, Lynbrook High School, San Jose
Jeff Chow, Cambridge Educational Institute, Chinos Hills
Jackie Osaki, Santa Monica High School, Santa Monica
Aneesh Samineni, The King’s Academy, Sunnyvale
Austin Wang, Flintridge Preparatory School, La Canada Flintridge, CA
Catherine Wu, Canyon Crest, San Diego
Zhongxia Yan, Davis Senior High School, Davis

Indiana
Boyang Dun, Canterbury School, Fort Wayne

Minnesota
Varun Mangalick, Mounds View High School, Arden Hills

New Jersey
Grace Chen, Bridgewater-Raritan Regional High School, Bridgewater
Michael Gao, Freehold High School, Freehold

New York
Erin Kim, Kappa Academy, Bayside

North Carolina
Peter Luo, William G. Enloe High School, Raleigh

Oregon
Abhijit Mudigonda, Westview High School, Portland

Texas
Siddarth Guha, Dulles High School, Sugar Land

Virginia
William Long, Thomas Jefferson High School for Science & Technology, Alexandria

Washington
Yilun Du, Pullman High School, Pullman
Ming Liu, Mountain View High School, Vancouver
Peter Lu, Mountain View School, Vancouver