USA Biology Olympiad

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The USA Biology Olympiad (USABO) is a prestigious national competition sponsored by the Center for Excellence in Education. Each year, twenty finalists gather in Virginia for a two-week training camp. At the end of this camp, four people are selected as the American team to compete in the International Biology Olympiad.

[edit] Organization

USABO finalists are selected in two rounds of tests. The open exam is a short, multiple choice exam open to any high school student. Competitors in the top ten percent move on to a semifinal exam. The second exam consists of another short multiple-choice section followed by a short answer/matching section. The twenty highest scorers move on to the USABO. After the two-week training camp, the finalists undergo a day of practical examinations and a day of theoretical testing similar, in some respects, to the semifinal examination but far more comprehensive.

In 2006, approximately 7000 students from schools nationwide plus the District of Columbia and Hong Kong took the open exam. Of that number, 629 students moved on to the semifinal exam.

[edit] USA Team Members attending IBO

2003 - Minsk
Michael Xiang - 21st place, Silver
Kay Aull - 27th place, Silver
Kelley Harris - 62nd place, Bronze
Victor Li - 64th place, Bronze

2004 - Brisbane
Kay Aull - 3rd place, Gold
Brad Hargreaves - 5th place, Gold
Clinton Hansen - 7th place, Gold
ZeNan Chang - 15th place, Gold

2005 - Beijing
Robin Zhou - 9th place, Gold
Chris Krueger - 10th place, Gold
Steven Hao - 21st place, Silver
Grace Eckhoff - 24th place, Silver

2006 - Río Cuarto
Jawon Lee - 4th place, Gold
Allen Lin - 10th place, Gold
Jason Wu - 29th place, Silver
Meng Xiao He - 49th place, Silver

2007 - Saskatoon