Chem whiz kids find formula for success

Winning a top prize at a global chemistry event has given 18-year-old Zhong Zheng more motivation and hope for future study.

Zhong was one of four high school students on the Chinese team that won gold medals at the 56th International Chemistry Olympiad, which concluded on Monday in Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia. Team China achieved the highest overall score in the competition for the fourth consecutive time.

Zhong, from Haikou Middle School in Haikou, Hainan province, showed strong interest in chemistry as a child. He has been selected as a chemistry competition candidate since he started high school. In November, he won the gold medal at the finals of the 37th Chinese Chemistry Olympiad and then, with the highest score in the country, joined Team China for the 2024 IChO.

"I'm going to be a chemistry major at Peking University in the coming autumn semester," Zhong said.

As one of the world's largest and most influential chemistry competitions, the IChO, which began in 1968, serves as a platform for talented chemistry students to demonstrate their skills.

The competition is usually held each July and lasts for about 10 days. This year's event, with the theme "Build the Bonds", started on July 21. It attracted 327 competitors from 96 countries and regions, the organizing committee said.

Thirty-six gold medals, 67 silver medals and 99 bronze medals were awarded at this year's competition.

Wang Junjie from Chongqing Bashu Middle School in Chongqing, Ren Zhengqian from the Affiliated High School of South China Normal University in Guangzhou, Guangdong province, and Ma Linrui from the High School Affiliated to Renmin University of China in Beijing — finished fifth, eighth and 12th, respectively, in the gold medal standings.

"The extensive range of topics covered in this competition, and fierce and intensive matches — containing a five-hour experimental exam and a five-hour theoretical exam — made it quite difficult for participants to win a gold medal," said Xu Peidi, Wang's chemistry mentor at school and one of the head mentors of the Chinese team. "But Team China has been competitive over the years."

Xu said that to help the team better prepare for the competition, the four high schoolers had received intensive training for about two weeks at Tsinghua University.

Academic mentors from the competition committee of the Chinese Chemical Society, along with teachers from Tsinghua University, Wuhan University and Peking University, also served as scientific observers during the competition, under the guidance of the Youth Science and Technology Center of the China Association for Science and Technology.

Xu said the students' strong foundations in mathematics and physics, as well as their positive mind-sets, also helped them succeed in the finals.

The 57th IChO will be held in the United Arab Emirates next year.

Contact the writers at dengrui@chinadaily.com.cn