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From 1986 to 2019, the United States Teams have brought home: 66 Gold Medals, 48 Silver Medals, 29 Bronze Medals, and 11 Honorable Mentions. — AAPT.ORG

Meet the Team

Photo of Jacob Nie

Jacob Nie

Cupertino, CA

Monta Vista High School

Grade: Junior



Hobbies

Backpacking, climbing, cycling, watching soccer, minesweeper, whistling

Clubs

Monta Vista Math and Science Club (winner of the *inaugural* integration bee!)

Experience

PUPC Gold (2018), USAPHO Silver (2018), HMMT (2018), USAJMO (2017), AIME (2015-2019)

Bio

I like to read and learn and look around. The world is very big and has lots of things and happenings in it for us to see and hear. Being able to know why things are things and why happenings happen makes me feel good inside, so I like to learn these things. I also enjoy sharing the things I learn with other people and watching them feel good inside as well. Knowledge makes looking around and thinking very fun. Being able to look around and think with other people is like double fun!

I also like to work hard and be good at things I like to do. It’s very fun to spend a lot of time on something and getting really good at it. It is enjoyable to slowly watch myself improving. Of course, sometimes things don’t pan out, and I don’t get quite as good as I want to be. I remember trying to get better at chess---that did not last long! It’s ok when that happens.

Learning physics lets me combine these two things, learning things and working hard. I am very happy to see my hard work pay off and even happier to have learned so much in the process! I am very happy to be part of the team, and I am eager to learn a lot more.

There are a lot of people who I have to thank! First, I would like to thank my physics teachers Mr. Lordan and Mr. Birdsong, both of whom have made physics an entertaining class over the past two years. I would also like to thank my math teacher Mr. DeRuiter, who taught me everything I know about calculus! I am also very grateful to my fifth grade teacher Mrs. Reuterskiold, who encouraged my curiosity from a young age. Lastly, I would like to thank my parents for the rigorous upbringing and the continuous support.

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Disclaimer: Information in Physics Team profiles is provided by the Team members and is in no way a reflection of AAPT's opinions or views.

Contact Information

For more details and information about the U.S. Physics Team, please contact AAPT's Programs department at 301-209-3340 or programs@aapt.org