Hinsdale Central graduate wins gold medal at International Chemistry Olympiad – Chicago Tribune

Harrison Wang, a 2017 graduate of Hinsdale Central High School, received a gold medal in the International Chemistry Olympiad held July 6-15.

Wang was part of four-member team that represented the United States in Nakhon Pathom, Thailand, competing against 293 students from 75 other countries.

"My parents are pretty proud," said Wang, who lives in Hinsdale.

The other members also won gold medals, making it the best performance by a U.S. team since the U.S. began participating in the Olympiad in 1984, said Joan Coyle, spokeswoman for the American Chemical Society, which sponsors the U.S. team.

When asked whether he thinks the gold medal is a big deal, Wang said the chemistry in the Olympiad is different from the chemistry research being done, so professional chemists are not overly impressed by the achievement.

"But education-wise, I think we are role models and we motivate kids to study chemistry," said Wang, who has a younger brother and sister.

The other members of the team are Joshua Park of Massachusetts, Steven Liu of California and Brendan Yap of Carmel High School, Indiana.

The medals were awarded based on scores from a five-hour written exam and a five-hour practical lab at the Olympiad. Wang had the fifth-highest ranked score, Coyle said.

Wang first became interested in chemistry when he took honors chemistry freshman year at Central. In sophomore year, he competed in physics and math Olympiads. In junior year, he advanced as far as alternate to the U.S. team going to the International Chemistry Olympiad.

His parents pushed him to compete and challenge himself, Wang said. "I still do enjoy it."

Wang said there definitely is a difference between studying chemistry and competing at such a high level. Competition chemistry is concentrated on problem solving and analyzing.

For the 2016 International Olympiad, Wang estimates he studied an hour or two a day for four to five weeks.

To prepare for the 2017 Olympiad, he studied 15 to 20 hours a week, starting in June 2016 and continuing through May of this year.

He took only one science class at Central this year, AP biology.

"I intentionally chose a course load (senior year) that was light on homework, so I could have time to study," Wang said.

He said it was not very difficult to work so hard on a goal that is not shared by your classmates.

"I've been working hard by myself since a young age," Wang said.

He also became friends with other students who would attend the Chemistry Olympiad Study Camp at the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colorado, in June.

The students receive college-level training in chemistry, with an emphasis on organic chemistry, during the camp, which is the final step to qualify for the team that will go to the international competition.

"I enjoy organic chemistry a lot because there is a certain style to it that is unique," and involves intuition, Wang said.

His classes senior year included AP literature and honors philosophy, subjects Wang found interesting because they involve a different kind of thinking than he uses in science and math classes.

"In literature, there is no one right answer," Wang said. "Some answers may be more correct than others. But in science, at least in competitions, there is only one right answer."

Wang is undecided what major he will pursue at Massachusetts Institute of Technology this year, but the literature and philosophy classes piqued his interest enough to get them on his list of possible majors that also include physics and computer science.

kfornek@pioneerlocal.com

Twitter @kfDoings

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Hinsdale Central graduate wins gold medal at International Chemistry Olympiad - Chicago Tribune