Physics Student Wins Big at International Physics Olympiad
Vincent Liu, who just began his undergraduate education in physics at Penn State this fall, was a member of the U.S. Physics Team that competed in the International Physics Olympiad in Zurich, Switzerland, and Liechtenstein July 10–18, 2016.
Liu got involved with the competition while he was a student at State College High School, first competing in the U.S. Physics Olympiad’s Fnet=ma exam competition when he was in
eleventh grade. Liu did well enough in the competition that year to qualify for the U.S. Physics Olympiad semifinal competition, where he earned an honorable mention.
“Back then, I didn’t know about the structure of the Olympiad and just took it for fun,” he said.
This past year, Liu’s senior year of high school and his second year participating in the U.S. Physics Olympiad, he felt more prepared for the competition.
“I thought it went better and I estimated a silver medal in the semifinal exam. It turns out that I won a gold and qualified for the [U.S.] physics team, which was a huge surprise,” he said. “I remember thoroughly checking my email to make sure it wasn’t a prank.”
His gold medal in the semifinal exam earned him a spot on the U.S. Physics Team with four other outstanding physics students from across the country. The team competed in the International Physics Olympiad in Zurich and Liechtenstein, with the competition consisting of three theory questions on mechanics, nonlinear circuits, and subatomic particle direction; and two experimental questions, which dealt with a four-point resistance measurement of thin films and bifurcation behavior of excited poppy seeds.
The team performed very well, placing fifth in the point count and seventh in medal count, earning two individual gold medals and three silver medals. Liu’s performance on the exam won him an individual silver medal.
The team was able to experience the culture of Switzerland and Liechtenstein on their trip and bonded with students from other teams in the competition.
“We got to explore a lot of Swiss culture and activities, as well as interact with the other teams. The experience was extremely intellectually stimulating and amazing overall,” said Liu.
Liu, who attended the Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics’s AstroFest community outreach event every year as a child, knew he would be involved in science, but finding his science niche in physics wasn’t as predictable.
“I’ve been a math and science person for a long time—I went to AstroFest every year as a child—but I wasn’t really exposed to physics until the summer after tenth grade,” he said. “I’ve been studying it for a little over two years, and I’ve been extremely interested in physics since then.”
He’s excited to be studying physics at Penn State and conducting research as part of Venkatraman Gopalan’s materials science group, where he explores making quantam mechanics computations more systematic, accurate, and faster using symmetry operations. “Research is something that I’m very excited about,” he said.
He also hopes to incorporate some of his other interests—visual art, design, computers, artificial intelligence, and game design—into his education as well.