Results of XI International Astronomy Olympiad announced

Mumbai, Nov 19 (UNI) The results of XI International Astronomy Olympiad were announced in a ceremony held in the auditorium of Tata Institute of Fundamental Reserach, Mumbai.

Dr Anil Kakodkar, Chairman, Atomic Energy Commission gave away top awards to students yesterday. A total of 120 participants that included 80 students and 40 teachers and observers from 18 countries across the world participated in the event.

The XI IAO in Mumbai had three rounds - theoretical round (solving problems in theoretical astronomy and astrophysics), practical round (analysing local observatory data) and observational round (sky watching). The theoretical and practical rounds were held in Mumbai while the observational round was carried out at GMRT near Pune.

Besides these academic competitions the event included cultural shows and visits to historical places as well as scientific lectures at GMRT, IUCAA, Nehru Centre and TIFR by some of the leading scientists of the country.

Professor Rajaram Nityanand, Centre Director, NCRA Pune chaired the Academic Committee of XI IAO and Professor Arvind Kumar, Centre Director HBCSE Mumbai chaired its National Organising Committee.

Indian teams have been giving splendid performance consistently at the IAO. At the XI IAO Mumbai the eight member Indian team received five Gold medals (Diploma I), one Silver Medal (Diploma II) and one Bronze Medal (Diploma III). Three Indian students received Special Diplomas for Best Performance in the Observational round (Juniors), Best performance in the Theoretical round (Seniors) and Overall Best performance (Seniors).

Students in Junior category who recived the awards are - Kedar Shriram Tatwawadi, Adwaitvedant Satish Mathkarand, Nikhil Kumar.

While among seniors it was Mehul Jain, Chiraag Juvekar, Udbhav Singh, Raziman T V and Soumyashant Nayak.

The team was lead by Mr Abhay Deshpande of SAMEER, Mumbai and Mr Kedar Soni of Abhinav Vidyalaya, Dombivali.

Speaking on the occasion Dr Anil Kakodkar, Chairman, Atomic Energy Commission said ''I do believe that this is not the final occasion to show talent but the beginning of a long and fruitful career ahead. I hope this experience will be of great use ahead as now science is a collective global enterprise. I hope you carry pleasent memories of the contest and of your stay in India.'' The International Astronomy Olympiad (IAO) by the Euro-Asian Astronomical society has started in 1996. India started participating in IAO from 1999. The last year's IAO was held in Beijing, China.

Dr M Gavrilov is the Chairman of the Co-ordinating Council of the International Astronomy Olympiad.

The XI IAO was sponsored by the Department of Atomic Energy and the Department of Space of the Government of India and was organised by Homi Bhabha Centre for Science Education (Tata Institute of Fundamental Reserach)- the nodal centre of the country for Olympiads in different subjects. This important academic event is likely to give a big boost to astronomy education and popularise astronomic activities in the country.

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