High School Student Winners Announced in UA Physics Contest

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Nearly 300 students representing 21 schools recently competed in the 37^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. Students competed in both individual and team events.

The following are the top individual winners:

Kevin Kusch, McGill-Toolen Catholic High School (Mobile), 1^st Place

Hema Pingali, Randolph School (Huntsville), 2^nd Place

Huiying Zhang, Mississippi School for Math and Science (Columbus), 3^rd Place

Grant Smith, Homewood High School, 4^th Place

Xianming Li, Hoover High School, 5^th Place

Rebecca Riley, Homewood High School, 6^th Place

Jonathan Hurowit, Altamont School (Birmingham), 7^th Place

Drew Shroyer, Homewood High School, 8^th Place

Hemin Noorani, Hoover High School, 9^th Place

Allen Davis, McGill-Toolen Catholic High School (Mobile), 10^th Place

The following are team awards:

Cipher Competition (Overall)

1^st Place – McGill-Toolen Catholic  High School (Mobile)

Chris McDonald, Janzen Lee, Allen Davis, Kevin Kusch, Conor Kusch, Silvio Piccini, Logan Robinson, Collin Phillips, Allen Davis, Jacob Jagiello

2^nd Place – Hoover High School

Xianming Li, Hemin Noorani, Shep Lotz, Madhukar Mayokonda, Sasha Hedges,  Archit Thopay, Kris Short, Luke Johnson, David Hall, Andrew Chun, Bhargav Earla, Hollie Barron, Ben McLemore, Ian Carothers, Christian Free, Trevor Davis, Saad Raja, Jessica Prestel, Trey Chaffin, Khalil Saadig, Greg Rogers, Lauren Wiggins, Morgan Rogers, Hamza Gujar, Jessica Prestel, Khalil Saadiq, Hamza Gujar, Ashley Wylie, Lauren Wiggins, Morgan Rogers, Josh Vines

3^rd Place – Ranburne High School

Zach Jamison, Sadie Smith, Spence Florzak, Aaron Dodson, Stephanie Benefield, Michelle Baughn, Daniel Evans, Rebecca Anglin, Cole Yearta, Blake Grizzard, Clayton Young, Joe Wierzbicki, Spencer Gibbs, Bradley Gibbs, Jared Edwards,Corey Smith

Large Public Division

1^st Place – Hoover High School, Team 1

Xianming Li
Hemin Noorani
Shep Lotz
Madhukar Mayokonda

2^nd Place – Homewood High School, Team 4

Edward Demetz
Tyler Williams
Rebecca Riley
Grant  Smith

3^rd Place – Hoover High School, Team 2

Andrew Chun
David Hall
Archit Thopay
Sasha Hedges

Small Public Division

1^st Place – Ranburne High School, Team 4

Corey Smith
Spencer Gibbs
Jared Edwards
Bradley Gibbs

2^nd Place – Ranburne High School, Team 3

Joe Wierzbicki
Clayton Young
Blake Grizzard
Cole Yearta

3^rd Place Ranburne High School, Team 2

Stephanie Benefield
Rebecca Anglin
Michelle Baughn
Daniel Evans

Private School Division 

 1^st Place – McGill-Toolen Catholic High School, Team 1

Chris McDonald
Janzen Lee
Allen Davis
Kevin Kusch

2^nd Place – McGill-Toolen Catholic High School, Team 2

Silvio Piccini
Collin Phillips
Logan Robinson
Conor Kusch

3^rd  Place Randolph School, Team 1    

Ashwin Ramachandran
Carla Becker
Jason Dehorty
Hema Pingali

Math and Science School Division

1^st Place – Mississippi School for Math and Science, Team 1

Elaine Burns
Claire Belant
Huiying Zhang
Austin Li

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.

(Note: Representatives from Homewood High School and Randolph School are not pictured.)

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