2026 U. S. Physics Team Announced
2026 Travelers: Raymond Feng, Jason Liu, Yijia Xuan, Bryant Yu and Owen Zhou
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
College Park, MD, May 20, 2026—After a rigorous search involving two exams, the American Association of Physics Teachers has identified the members of the United States Physics Team. These bright emerging physicists took the USAPhO-Plus examination where, in addition to more traditional theoretical problems, students also solved a problem with an experimental component in which they analyzed experimental-style data, constructed and interpreted plots, extracted physical parameters, and evaluated uncertainties. This component was designed to assess careful and rigorous reasoning with data in a manner consistent with experimental physics, though without a hands-on laboratory setting. Thus, USAPhO-Plus served as the final step in selecting the five students traveling to EuPhO and one alternate.
One of the USAPhO-Plus problems was contributed by Stefan Ivanov (Bulgaria), a EuPhO 2018 silver medalist, helping bring an authentic European Olympiad perspective to the exam.
AAPT will also hold a Training & Development Camp (TDP Camp) at the University of Maryland. The TDP Camp will focus on preparation for EuPhO and the development of future competitors. The camp will therefore serve both as preparation for EuPhO and as an opportunity to continue developing future members of the U.S. Physics Team.
The camp will prepare the traveling delegation of the 2026 U.S. Physics Team for the mentally grueling exams and lab tests they'll face at the European Physics Olympiad (EuPhO) to be held June 12–16 in Gothenburg, Sweden, with Chalmers University of Technology and the University of Gothenburg as hosts. Student scholars from over 40 nations will test their knowledge in physics, competing with the world's best.
The coaches for the 2026 U.S. Physics Team are Academic Director, Tengiz Bibilashvili; Coaches, Kellan Colburn, Evan Erickson, Natalie LeBaron, and Rishab Parthasarathy, and Junior Coach, Harry Kroft.
The U.S. Physics Team is sponsored by the generous support of private donors, the American Institute for Physics and the member societies of the American Institute of Physics:
Acoustical Society of America
American Association of Physicists in Medicine
American Association of Physics Teachers
American Astronomical Society
ACA: The Structural Science Society
American Meteorological Society
American Physical Society
AVS: Science &Technology of Materials, Interfaces, and Processing
Optica
The Society of Rheology
Hosting University:
University of Maryland
Corporate Sponsors:
Cambridge University Press
Citadel and Citadel Securities
D.E. Shaw Group & Company
Non-Trivial
About AAPT
AAPT is an international organization for physics educators, physicists, and industrial scientists—with members worldwide. Dedicated to enhancing the understanding and appreciation of physics through teaching, AAPT provides awards, publications, and programs that encourage teaching practical application of physics principles, support continuing professional development, and reward excellence in physics education. Founded in 1930, the Association is headquartered in the American Center for Physics at College Park, Maryland.
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