About the UConn Physics Olympiad

 

The Physics Department at the University of Connecticut held its first Olympiad on May 25th, 2006. The Olympiad was inspired by the hugely successful Yale Physics Olympics, and it was our first attempt to provide the kind of fun and outreach and excitement that Yale provides, to schools on our neck of the woods.

The Olympiad is about having fun, networking with other ghigh school students, connecting with the resources, faculty, staff and students at the UConn Physics Department, and learning Physics along the way. The event stresses group work and team spirit, and common sense is generally more useful than encyclopedic knowledge of Physics concepts.

The first Olympiad was very well received, and thanks to the support and encouragement of all the participating schools, teachers and students, UConn determined that this event should be here to stay. So please join us in the next Olympiad! We will try our best to make it an unforgettable experience.

 

Our Mission Statement

 

The mission of the UConn Physics Olympiad is to support physics teachers and students of the State of Connecticut by complementing their physics curriculum and connecting high school science programs with the resources available at UConn.

Within the framework of a collegiate game, we provide high school students with the opportunity to look at physics in new ways by participating in inquiry-based tasks. Students engage in hands-on science and make connections to real-world challenges.

The UConn Physics Olympiad provides an atmosphere for developing fun and creative ways of doing science.