High School Student Winners Announced in UA Physics Contest

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — More than 200 high school students representing 14 schools competed recently in the 35^th annual University of Alabama High School Physics contest.

Students competed for top honors through a series of tests and competitions during the event, sponsored by UA’s department of physics and astronomy.

The top two finishers in the written exam who choose to attend UA will receive four-year, in-state tuition scholarships. Students who do well in the competition are invited to apply to the E. Scott Barr Scholarship program that awards generous scholarships to students majoring in physics.

In addition to the student competition, the event includes programs for teachers, an open house on research in physics, a physics show and informal opportunities to experience campus life at UA.

The following are the top individual winners:

Jesse Baker – Darlington School, (Rome, Ga.)      1^st place

Echo Zhao – Darlington School                                   2^nd place

Burke Smith – Homewood High School                    3^rd place

Elizabeth Gauntt – Homewood High School           4^th place

Eugene Wu – Hoover High School                              5^th place

Jin Sol Lee – Darlington School                                   6^th place

Devon Eastin – Hoover High School                          7^th place

David Kwong – Homewood High School                  8^th place

Moniz Dharani – Hoover High School                       9^th place

Swapnil Patel- Hoover High School                            10^th place

Baker, the top individual winner, also won first place among all first-year physics students.

The following are team awards:

Cipher Competition (Overall)

1^st Place – Homewood – Team A

Hannah Mae Robinson
Will Johnston
Burke Smith
Elizabeth Gauntt

2nd Place – Darlington School (Rome, Ga.) –Team A

Jesse Baker
Alex Pickle
Jin Sol Lee
Echo Zhau

3^rd Place – Ranburne- Team D

Samuel Fordham
Heath Hembree
Rachel Gibbs
Gracie Ayers

 (Small School Division)

 1^st Place – Ranburne – D

Samuel Fordham
Heath Hembree
Rachel Gibbs
Gracie Ayers

2^nd Place – Ranburne- Team B

Branden Messer
Kelly Hammend
Seth Hornsby

3^rd Place – Ranburne – Team A

Katie Wood
Asa Elkins
Sierra Smith
Nick Roy

(Private School Division)

1^st Place – Darlington School – Team A

Jesse Baker
Alex Pickle
Jin Sol Lee
Echo Zhau

2^nd Place –  John Carroll Catholic High School (Birmingham) –  Team A

Habeeb Ghossein
Kelly Getsinger
Tianjiao Zhang
John Reilly

3rd  Place –  John Carroll Catholic High School – Team B

Patrick Moore
Phillip West
Kelvin Smith
Sean Hicks

(Large public school division)

1^st Place – Homewood – Team A

Hannah Mae Robinson
Will Johnston
Burke Smith
Elizabeth Gauntt

2nd Place – Hoover – Team I

Sam Johnson
Eugene Wu
Swapnil Patel
Moniz Dharami

3^rd Place – Hoover – Team G

Luke Riney
Susmita Murthy
Bryan Anderson
Drew Montgomery

Dean Wilson, a physics teacher at South Lamar High School, was recognized as the Scott Barr Teacher of the Year.  

The department of physics and astronomy is part of UA’s College of Arts and Sciences, the University’s largest division and the largest liberal arts college in the state. Students from the College have won numerous national awards including Rhodes Scholarships, Goldwater Scholarships and memberships on the USA Today Academic All American Team.  

Representatives from Homewood and John Carroll are not pictured below.