Naugatuck Students Place Third in Physics Olympics at Yale

Four Naugatuck seniors participated in The Physics Olympics at Yale University on Saturday, October 15 where they competed in The Physics Olympics.

Naugatuck's students, Chris Gombos, Art Keung, Amanda Miller and Syeda Sultans placed third in the Optic events.

This annual event attracts about 50 teams of High School students, mostly from Connecticut, but also from New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, and other states. 

 The teams are given 45 minutes to work on each of six original problems which involve building, measuring, and/or calculating. Each team is scored on how far, how strong, or how close their result is to the exact answer. 

 “It is challenging as well as enjoyable,”  psychics teacher Nick Guthrie said. “The event provided the students with an idea of what college will be like next year, as well as how they shape up alongside some of their bright peers.”

 “It was kind of neat to see real physics in life,” senior Amanda Miller said, standing outside the classroom with her peers.

 While chatting in the hallway, a fire drill bell rang out and as all of the students made their way outdoors, senior Syeda Sultans said, “It was very enjoyable. We had to use our intuition. You had to figure everything out as you went.”

 Art Keung, who admitted he was better at history that math than physics, said, “It was a very cool, very interesting, experience. It made me look at things differently, rather than just taking things at face value, but the physics behind it all, seeing how things work.”

 Sultans seemed to be as impressed with Yale as she was with the competition. “I am applying to Yale. I have been there many times and I would love to go there, there is so much history there. I saw a desk that that said 1958 on it, and I felt like I was walking back in time.”

Guthrie smiled, and said, “I am pleased to say that our team came away with a third place in one event, and clearly enjoyed the challenges.”