Two shining young scientists have cemented their place at the World Cup for Physics.
Ayush Shah and Niyor Sharma, from Carey Baptist College in Harrisdale, recently excelled in the Australian national qualifying competition of the International Young Physicists Tournament (IYPT).
As a result, the Year 10 students have earned two of the five coveted places on Team Australia.
What’s more, Ayush has been honoured with the role of team captain.
The IYPT, often referred to as the “Physics World Cup,” is a unique and challenging competition where students tackle open-ended problems, define their own parameters, and develop mathematical models.
They conduct their own experiments and defend their findings in live physics debates against teams from around the world, each presenting their distinct approaches to the same problems.
This year’s tournament will be held in Budapest from 10-17 July.
For Niyor, the opportunity this tournament affords him will be unsurpassed.
“I had never thought I would ever make it this far, and to represent Australia would be a dream come true. The memories we will make, will never be forgotten,” he said.
“I first joined this tournament with Ayush in Year 8. Back then, I had heard of students heading to the international stage for this competition and was interested in what this tournament was about.
“It was only an online event for us, but I wanted to give it a go. The incentive – a free meal from a café.
“But as I continued on for two more seasons (including a trip to New Zealand), I now find myself representing Australia, all from a small decision made two years ago.”
Ayush said he’s just as excited about the competition as he is about meeting kindred spirits and tucking into some goulash.
“The competitive side of me wants to see how we would fare on the international stage,” he said.
“If I could present some physics reports, interact with like-minded people from other countries, and still have time to eat some Hungarian food, it would be the perfect competition.”
Niyor and Ayush have overcome many hurdles in the lead-up to the tournament next month.
“The biggest challenges while preparing for this competition were the countless problems that kept appearing during our preparation. Whether it be inaccurate results, insufficient experiments or a perplexing equation, these problems had become the new normal,” Niyor explained.
“But at the end, after our hard work, the satisfaction of everything tying up together, will always be a feeling unmatched.”
Ayush said he’s curious to see whether he and his colleagues were on the money when they predicted how other nations “might interpret the 17 physics problems”.
“Balancing these perspectives in our presentation was important but also difficult, though it pushed us to think more broadly and creatively about our approach,” he said.
The school is understandably beaming.
“We are incredibly proud of Ayush and Niyor’s outstanding efforts and wish them all the best as they embark on this extraordinary journey,” the school said.
“Their participation in the IYPT is not only a personal achievement but also a proud moment for our entire school community.”
