Detroit Country Day Student Makes U.S. Chemistry Olympiad Team

Birmingham Patch likes to spotlight local young people who doing amazing things. This week, we're talking to an area teen who has proven to be one of the great young chemistry students in the state and country, and will represent the United States in international competition later this month.

Sidharth (Sid) Chand

School:

Age: 16

Hometown: Bloomfield Hills

Achievement: Chand is among four high school students from around the country named to the U.S. team competing in the International Chemistry Olympiad. He and the other team members will compete with student chemists from more than 70 other countries for gold, silver and bronze medals at the University of Maryland, College Park, July 21-30. The event is organized by the American Chemical Society (ACS) and sponsored by the Dow Chemical Company.

Competition for the U.S. team started in the spring and was intense. Chand was among the more than 14,000 chemistry students that took a rigorous initial exam for the team, and advanced with about 1,000 to take the national exam for the Chemistry Olympiad. From there, the top 20 went on to a two-week study camp at the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, where four students were selected as team members and two were named alternates.

Key to Awesomeness: Chand said he's always had an interest in science and that chemistry is, by far, his favorite subject. He calls it the 'central science,' and is interested in studying its principles, ideas and its universal application to other sciences.

In addition to excelling in the classroom, he developed an extracurricular practice of researching trends in the field on his own, and now devotes time nightly to hone his skills as the competition draws near. He also credits his instructors for providing inspiration and the framework to be successful.

"My courses at Detroit Country Day School have also allowed me to
challenge my own familiarity with the subject," he said. "Ms. Winter has been my chemistry teacher for the past two years, and her enthusiasm for having higher-level conversations about the sciences has helped me prepare not only for the Olympiad team, but for AP tests and other academic testing as I look toward my future studies."

Do you know an amazing young person?

Spotlight them on Patch! Send any nominations to Editor Laura Houser at Laura.Houser@patch.com.