Blair students place at Physics Olympics

Members of the Physics Team placed in three competitions at the 2003 University of Maryland Physics Olympics, held on Mar 29.

Seniors Joshua Chang, Andrew Lee and junior Stanley Wang placed first in the Optics Orgy competition, which involves manipulating lenses to produce a clear image on a light rail.

In the Projectile Contest competition, Wang and sophomores Sherri Geng and Renee Park received first place. This event required students to build a device to launch a golf ball at a specified target after one bounce.

This year's Mystery Event had students determining the mass needed to balance the force of a spring. Lee, Chang and freshman Debbie Cheng placed third for Blair.

The other competitions included Bridge Building (constructing a bridge to hold the greatest amount of weight), Egg Drop (building a contraption to protect an egg), Laser Bullseye (making calculations to direct a laser beam at a target), Balloon Distancer (propelling a vehicle the greatest distance), and Solar Furnace.

Members of the team were elated with the team's performance at and enthusiasm with the event. "I was very happy to see that everyone showed a lot of interest, and many groups started working on their devices well in advance of the competition," Wang said. "Members also exhibited a great level of teamwork, and the sharing of inventive ideas definitely contributed to the team's success."

So far this year, the Physics Team has placed well in the Final Frontiers competition and the Destination Imagination competition.

Several groups from the Physics Team will be competing in the state level of Destination Imagination at the University of Maryland Baltimore County on Saturday, Apr 5.