High School Student Winners Announced in UA Physics Contest

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – More than 280 students representing 19 schools competed recently in the 36th 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 R. Baker, Darlington School (Rome, Ga.), 1st Place

Brian J. Bender, Hoover High School, 2nd Place

Yosnai Chanatrutipan, Darlington School (Rome, Ga.), 3rd Place

Joe R. Scherrer, Montgomery Bell Academy, 4th Place

Hunter Tidwell, Montgomery Bell Academy, 5th Place

Andrew J. Safigan, Darlington School (Rome, Ga.), 6th Place

Matthew J. Heubach, McGill-Toolen Catholic High School, 7th Place

William E. Alexander, Randolph School (Huntsville), 8th Place

Gray Curtis, Montgomery Bell Academy, 9th Place

Todd Christensen, Hoover High School, 10th Place

The following are team awards:

Cipher Competition (Overall)

1st Place – Darlington School (Rome, Ga.)- Team-A

Du Zhang

Gun Chanatrutipan

Andrew Safigan

Jesse Baker

2nd Place – Randolph School (Huntsville) – Team-A

Grant Silva

Lars Arney

Willaim Alexander

Harrison Hunter

3rd  Place – Montgomery Bell Academy

Joe Scherrer

Hunter Tidwell

Adam Bowman

Chris Haberman

Gray Curtis

DeCoursey Beach

Robert Forcum

(Math and Science School Division)

1st Place – Mississippi School for Math and Science (Columbus) – Team C

Kennedy Brown

Aaron Ng

Scully Hsu

George Liao

(Private School Division)

1st  Place – Darlington School – Team A

Jesse Baker

Andrew Safigan

Gun Chanatrutipan

Du Zhang

2nd Place – Randolph School – Team A

Grant Silva

Lars Arney

William Alexander

Harrison Hunter

3rd Place – Montgomery Bell Academy – Team A

Gray Curtis

Adam Bowman

Hunter Tidwell

Joe Scherrer

(Small School Division)

1st Place – Ranburne School – Team A

Katie Wook

Nick Roy

Steven Brimer

Sierra Smith

2nd Place – Ranburne School – Team B

Dylan Costley

Brianna Hunter

Jared Edwards

David Dake

3rd  Place –­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­ Ranburne School – Team C

Cory Smith

Taylor Tate

Blake Grizzard

A.J. Williams

Large Team Division

1st  Place – Hoover High School – Team-A

Sam Snell

Collin Rooney

Todd Christensen

Brian Bender

2nd Place –  Hoover High School – Team- B

Nathan Wang

George Towles

Cooper McEuen

Jaron Breland

3rd Place – Shades Valley High School – Team A

Ben Ball

Seth Ratliff

Tyson McCallister

Garrett Higginbotham

Dennis Reed, a physics teacher from the Mississippi School for Math and Science in Columbus 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 Hoover and Randolph High Schools are not pictured below.