International Success by Irish Science Students

2005 International Chemistry Olympiad (IChO)

The 2005 IChO was held in Taipei, Taiwan from the 16 th - 25 th July. The Irish team was selected and trained by Dr. Paraic James (Team leader), Dr. Wesley Browne (Deputy team leader) and the staff of the School of Chemical Sciences, DCU . A panel of fourteen medal winners at the IBM/DCU Irish Chemistry Olympiad in January was given additional training and assignments before the team of four was finally selected in May. These four students :- Alexey Pokrovskiy, Douglas Community School, Cork; Mary Ellen Lynall, Methodist College, Belfast; Aleksey Shmelov, St. Joseph's, C.B.S., Drogheda, Co. Louth and Sinead McTaggart, St. Louis Grammar, Ballymena, Co. Antrim received a weeklong intensive residential training programme in DCU on the IChO syllabus prior to their departure for Taiwan. Aleksey Shmelov and Mary Ellen Lynall, were awarded Bronze IChO medals. Both students will receive IBM scholarships later in the year. This brings to ten the number of International Chemistry Medals won by Irish students since Ireland first participated in the IChO in 1997. Alexey Pokrovskiy was awarded an Honourable Mention Certificate.

Dr. Paraic James was re-elected the European Representative on the IChO Steering Committee for a further two years.

Dr. Paraic James with Alexey Pokrovskiy , Mary Ellen Lynall and Aleksey Shmelov

2005 International Biology Olympiad (IBO)

The 2005 IBO was held in Beijing, China from 10 th - 17 th July 2005. The Irish team ( David Mitchell, Cookstown High School, Co. Tyrone; Susan Spillane, St Angela's College, Cork; Patrick Walker, Wesley College, Dublin 16 and Charlene Tennyson, St. Michael's School, Co. Armagh) was selected and trained by Professor Richard O Kennedy (Team Leader) and Susan Townsend ( Deputy Team leader ), PhD student, of the School of Biotechnology, DCU . A panel of fourteen medal winners at the IBM/DCU Irish Biology Olympiad in January was given additional training and assignments before the team of four was finally selected in May. These four students received a weeklong intensive residential training programme in DCU on the IBO syllabus prior to their departure for Beijing.

Irish IBO delegation; Richard O Kennedy, Patrick Walker, David Mitchell, Sue Townsend, Charlene Tennyson and Susan Spillane,

2005 International Physics Olympiad (IPhO)

The 2005 IPhO was held in Salamanca, Spain from the 3 rd - 12 th July. The Irish team was selected and trained by Dr. Eilish McLoughlin , Mr. David Rea ( St Colman's College, Fermoy, Co. Cork ) and the staff of the School of Physical Sciences DCU . A panel of fourteen medal winners at the IBM/DCU Irish Science Olympiad was given additional training and assignments before the team of five was finally selected in May. These five students: - Nina Hanzlikova, Our Lady's Bower, Co. Westmeath; Marie Therese Hall, Thornhill College, Derry; Alix Murphy, Sacred Heart Grammar, Newry; Ady Abdelhaq, Rockwell College, Cashel; Geoffrey Sheil, St. Columba's College, Dublin 16 received a week-long intensive residential training programme on the IPhO syllabus in DCU prior to their departure for Spain. Ady Abdelhaq was awarded an Honourable Mention Certificate at the IPhO.

Photo Eilish McLoughlin and Mr. David Rea with Ady Abdelhaq

2004 International Olympiad in Informatics (IOI)

The 2004 IOI will be held in Athens, Greece from the 11 th - 18 th September. Martin Orr, Methodist College, Belfast won a silver medal having already won a gold medal at the IOI in the USA in 2003. Martin was also awarded the €1,500 IBM Scholarship at the IBM headquarters later in the year for winning the IOI silver medal.

The Irish IOI 2004 team (Martin Orr, Daniel Kirsten, Kilkenny College; Jonathon Bolster, St Columb's College, Derry and Alex Clossick, Clongowes Wood College, Kildare) was selected from the finalists at the IBM/DCU Computer Programming Olympiad held in DCU. The team followed an online training programme designed and implemented by Charlie Daly and Ciarán O Conaire. They also attended an intensive residential course in the School of Computing, DCU prior to their departure to the Athens. Charlie Daly (Team leader) has been the Irish IOI Team Leader since 1993 and Ciarán O Conaire (Deputy Team Leader) a PhD student in DCU was a bronze medal winner at the 1999 IOI in Turkey.

Martin Orr receiving the IOI silver medal from Maria Bakogiannis with Charlie Daly and Ciaran O Conaire.

2005 International Olympiad in Informatics (IOI) will be held in Nowy Scaz, Poland on 18 th - 25 August.