Team USA Attains Three Gold Medals and One Silver Medal at the International Biology Olympiad

Every U.S. team member has medaled in the International Biology Competition since 2003, bringing home 38 gold, 8 silver, and 2 bronze medals.

McLean, VA, July 26, 2014 --(PR.com)-- The Center for Excellence in Education (CEE) announces Team USA was awarded three Gold Medals and one Silver Medal at the 25th International Biology Olympiad (IBO) held in Bali, Indonesia. Team USA represented this nation in the world’s competition for top academic achievement in biology, surpassing student representatives from 63 nations of the world.

The United States Medalists are:
· Gold Medalist - William Long, Thomas Jefferson High School for Science & Technology, Alexandria, Virginia
· Gold Medalist - Yilun Du, Pullman High School, Pullman, Washington
· Gold Medalist - Varun Mangalick, Mounds View High School, Arden Hills, Minnesota
· Silver Medalist - Abhijit Mudigonda, Westview High School, Portland, Oregon

Team USA members were selected based on their academic merit by CEE during the 12th annual USABO National Finals hosted by Purdue University. Long, Du, Mangalick, and Mudigonda, are this nation’s premier biology students and will be seniors this fall.

“CEE is extremely proud of the success of Team USA 2014,” said Joann DiGennaro, President of CEE. “William, Yilun, Varun, and Abhijit garnered world recognition with their academic proficiency and are headed for outstanding science careers.”

Nearly 10,500 U.S. students from across the U.S. registered for the highly competitive USABO. Twenty finalists from 10 states were selected to compete at the USABO based on their scores from the open and semifinal exams. The high school students at the USABO also participated in lectures, study sessions and laboratory exercises led by biology experts in fields that include cellular & molecular biology, plant anatomy & physiology, animal anatomy & physiology, ethology, genetics & evolution, ecology, ethology, and biosystematics. This marks the fifth consecutive year that Purdue has co-sponsored the finals with CEE.

Kathy Frame, Director of the USABO and Special Projects for the CEE, and Clark Gedney, Director of the BioMedia Center for Instructional Design at Purdue, accompanied Team USA to the worldwide event. Air travel was provided courtesy of Korean Air, the official airline of the USA Biology Olympiad.

Frame was elected by her fellow jurors to be a member of Indonesia's Host Committee for the 2014 IBO in Bali. The subgroup worked in cooperation with Indonesia to review the practical and the theoretical examinations that had been developed, focusing on the quality of the questions in terms of scientific correctness and conceptual formulation. She will participate as a member of Denmark’s Host Committee for the 2015 IBO in Aarhus.

About the Center for Excellence in Education
The Center for Excellence in Education was founded in 1983 by the late Admiral H.G. Rickover and Joann P. DiGennaro, President of the Center. The Center's mission is to nurture high school and university scholars to careers of excellence and leadership in science, technology, engineering and mathematics, and to encourage collaboration between and among leaders in the global community. CEE sponsors the Research Science Institute (RSI), the USA Biology Olympiad (USABO), and the Teacher Enrichment Program (TEP). For more information about the Center and its programs, visit CEE’s Web site, www.cee.org
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Center for Excellence in Education (CEE)
Maureen Palmer
703-448-9062
www.cee.org
Joann DiGennaro
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