FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

U.S. Physics Team Semifinalists Announced
College Park, Maryland, United States, March 12, 2009

 The American Association of Physics Teachers (AAPT) today announced the top 150 students chosen to advance to the Semifinal round of U.S. Physics Team selection.  Nearly 4,000 students participated in the Fnet=ma Exam in January.  The top 407 students advanced to take the Quarter-final exam in February.  Qualifying semifinalists have been posted by AAPT on our website at www.aapt.org/physicsteam/semifinalists.cfm.
About the Olympiad:  The U.S. Physics Olympiad Program is a joint initiative of AAPT and the American Institute for Physics (AIP). AAPT began the program in 1986 to promote and demonstrate academic excellence. The International Olympiad is a nine-day competition among pre-university students from more than 80 nations. This year’s Olympiad, the 40th, will be held in Mérida Yucatán, México, July 11th to 19th, 2009. 
U.S. Physics Team Selection:  AAPT is responsible for recruiting, selecting and training teams each year to compete in the International Physics Olympiad Competition. This selection process begins in early January when high schools register their students to participate in the Fnet=ma exam.  Approximately 400 top scorers on the Fnet=ma exam advance to the quarter-final exam.  Of the 400 quarter-finalists, only 150-200 will advance to the final stage of the exam process, where the team members are selected
In May the team members travel from schools all over the United States, to the University of Maryland-College Park for the Physics Team Training Camp. There they engage in nine days of intense studying, mystery lab, daily exams and problem solving.
At the end of the training camp, five students and an alternate will be selected as the "Traveling Team" to represent the United States Physics Team at the International Physics Olympiad (IPhO). In July, the Traveling Team will attend a three day Mini Camp of intense laboratory work.  At the end of the Mini Camp two coaches and the five member Traveling Team will go on to the International Physics Olympiad.
Support the U.S. Physics Olympics Team:  Funding for the U.S. Physics Olympics team is supported through donations from concerned individuals and organizations.  Contributions are entirely used to support the selection, training, and travel of the team.  Donations to the U.S. Physics Olympics team are accepted at www.aapt.org/physicsteam/donate.cfm.
About AAPT: AAPT (www.aapt.org) is the leading organization for physics educators—with more than 10,000 members worldwide. Our mission is to advance the greater good through physics teaching. We provide our members with many opportunities for professional development, communication, and student enrichment. We serve the larger community through a variety of programs and publications. AAPT was founded in 1930 and is headquartered in the American Center for Physics in College Park, Maryland.
For more information: Contact Marilyn Gardner, Director of Communications, mgardner@aapt.org,  (301)209-3306, (301)209-0845 (Fax)