The Vancouver Winter Olympics may have just ended, but the competition to select the 2010 U.S. Physics Olympics Team is just heating up! Mason High School seniors David Chrzanowski and Dennis Tseng have advanced to the semi-final round of the U.S. Physics Team selection. "This is a huge accomplishment since 3,200 students took the first test, and only 300 qualified for semi-finals," said MHS AP Physics teacher Dee Dee Messer.

This month, Chrzanowsky and Tseng will participate in a second exam to determine the selection of the 24-member U.S. Physics Team. In May, these 24 students will travel from schools all over the United States to the U.S. Physics Team Training Camp at the University of Maryland-College Park. There, they will engage in nine days of intense studying, mystery lab, daily exams, and problem solving. At the end of that training camp, five students and an alternate will be selected as the "Traveling Team" to represent the United States at the International Physics Olympiad held in Zagreb, Croatia, from July 17-25. The Olympiad is a nine-day competition among pre-university students from more than 80 nations.

Each year, the American Association of Physics Teachers (AAPT) and the American Institute of Physics (AIP) sponsor a competition for high school students to represent the United States at the International Physics Olympics. The mission of the U.S. Physics Team Program is to promote and demonstrate academic excellence through preparation for and participation in the International Physics Olympiad.

About AAPT:
AAPT is the premier national organization and authority on physics and physical science education, with more than 10,000 members worldwide. The mission is to advance the greater good through physics teaching. We provide our members with many opportunities for professional development, communication, and student enrichment. The organization serves the larger community through a variety of programs and publications. AAPT was founded in 1930 and is headquartered in the American Center for Physics in College Park, Maryland.