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CITY LAD SHINES AT INTERNATIONAL ASTRONOMY OLYMPIAD
by Payal Gwalani
The Times of India
October 30, 2012 Tuesday
NAGPUR: A boy belonging to the city soared high earning himself a gold
medal at the International Astronomy Olympiads held in South Korea
recently. Arindam Bhattacharya, currently studying in Bangalore,
was the part of a three-member team that represented the country to
the Olympiad. The team bagged three medals - one gold and two silvers.
The team that also had Seshaansh Agrawal of Jaipur and Ayush Kumar of
Jodhpur, competed with children from 22 countries making up 17 teams in
the junior and 16 teams in the senior group. Union ministry of culture,
National Council of Science Museums, Nehru Science Centre and Homi
Bhabha Centre for Science Education were among the organizations that
supported the team. Arindam's score was 58.2 out of a possible 88,
putting him very close to the highest scorer Grevorg Martirosyan from
Armenia who scored 59 points.
"The Olympiads are not just some competition but a platform for
sharing ideas among people of different nationalities who have similar
interests. The selection procedure, that is a three-tier process in
India, is also a tough one," said Arindam. Those wishing to compete
internationally first need to appear for the National Standard
examination conducted by Indian Association of Physics Teachers. The
top 300 scorers of the examination qualify for the Indian National
Astronomy Olympiad which also consists of a three-week camp at the
Homi Bhabha Centre for Science Education, Mumbai. The top three
performers of the camp can represent the country at the Olympiads.
Despite not being taught in school, Arindam developed interest in the
subject after a chance reading of Stephen Hawking's 'A Brief History
of Time'. "I started reading more about astronomy after that. Later,
I came across the information about the Olympiad and was determined
to participate. So, I began preparing for it. It was only after
having studied one year that I attempted the first examination,"
he said. He believes the subject should be introduced at high school
level as it helps develop independent thinking and problem solving
ability of a student.
The subject, Arindam believes has not got its due importance. "We
do not have astronomy as a subject in school. Most of us don't even
know the basics of the subject,' rued Arindam who wishes to take up
nuclear engineering for his undergraduate studies. "This is because,
we have reached a stage where we can no longer depend on traditional
sources of energy and nuclear power," he said.
Ends
From: Baghdasarian
by Payal Gwalani
The Times of India
October 30, 2012 Tuesday
NAGPUR: A boy belonging to the city soared high earning himself a gold
medal at the International Astronomy Olympiads held in South Korea
recently. Arindam Bhattacharya, currently studying in Bangalore,
was the part of a three-member team that represented the country to
the Olympiad. The team bagged three medals - one gold and two silvers.
The team that also had Seshaansh Agrawal of Jaipur and Ayush Kumar of
Jodhpur, competed with children from 22 countries making up 17 teams in
the junior and 16 teams in the senior group. Union ministry of culture,
National Council of Science Museums, Nehru Science Centre and Homi
Bhabha Centre for Science Education were among the organizations that
supported the team. Arindam's score was 58.2 out of a possible 88,
putting him very close to the highest scorer Grevorg Martirosyan from
Armenia who scored 59 points.
"The Olympiads are not just some competition but a platform for
sharing ideas among people of different nationalities who have similar
interests. The selection procedure, that is a three-tier process in
India, is also a tough one," said Arindam. Those wishing to compete
internationally first need to appear for the National Standard
examination conducted by Indian Association of Physics Teachers. The
top 300 scorers of the examination qualify for the Indian National
Astronomy Olympiad which also consists of a three-week camp at the
Homi Bhabha Centre for Science Education, Mumbai. The top three
performers of the camp can represent the country at the Olympiads.
Despite not being taught in school, Arindam developed interest in the
subject after a chance reading of Stephen Hawking's 'A Brief History
of Time'. "I started reading more about astronomy after that. Later,
I came across the information about the Olympiad and was determined
to participate. So, I began preparing for it. It was only after
having studied one year that I attempted the first examination,"
he said. He believes the subject should be introduced at high school
level as it helps develop independent thinking and problem solving
ability of a student.
The subject, Arindam believes has not got its due importance. "We
do not have astronomy as a subject in school. Most of us don't even
know the basics of the subject,' rued Arindam who wishes to take up
nuclear engineering for his undergraduate studies. "This is because,
we have reached a stage where we can no longer depend on traditional
sources of energy and nuclear power," he said.
Ends
From: Baghdasarian