It was a celebration of the natural sciences – or more precisely, chemistry – held last week on ETH Zurich’s Hönggerberg campus. A total of 348 students from 89 countries met for a peaceful competition. They tested their chemistry knowledge in five-hour-long practical and theoretical examinations. The tasks developed by the scientific committee under the direction of ETH professor, Wendelin Stark were quite challenging. "Five hours of practical chemistry in the lab and 5 hours of theory in a row – at a university level – where even the world's best face a big challenge," explains Stark. "I am, therefore, very impressed by the dedication and expertise that the students have shown over the past week." Wendelin Stark, who represented Switzerland at the Chemistry Olympiad in Italy, Norway, and China in 1993, 1994, and 1995 respectively, discovered his love of chemistry through the competition and made contacts that have lasted to throughout his career. Now he hopes that the participants at the IChO 2023 in Switzerland were also able to gain experience that will accompany them throughout their lives.
Swiss team with a solid result, China won
The participants were awarded for their great performance on Monday during the closing ceremony in the Tonhalle Zurich. A total of 217 gold, silver, and bronze medals were awarded. A further 27 candidates received an "honourable mention," including Vivian Huber from Basel-Stadt. The best participant was Weijie Mao from China, who also achieved the best result in both the theoretical and practical examinations.
The awards were presented by Günther Dissertori, Rector of ETH Zurich and President of IChO 2023, among others. "It was a wonderful experience and a great honour to have these motivated young people from all over the world as our guests at ETH. I think it is great to see their enthusiasm and how much they have learned about chemistry, ETH Zurich and Switzerland!", says Günther Dissertori. "Of course, I hope that we will be able to welcome some of them as students in the future."
