On April 5, 2025, twenty-five teams of high school students from eighteen schools from around Connecticut competed in the 25th annual Yale Physics Olympics.
Over the course of the day, teams were challenged with five different events, that covered various physics concepts. There was also the traditional Fermi Quiz, where contestants had to calculate, as quickly as possible, estimates of various - sometimes serious and sometimes silly - quantitites.
Emily Pottebaum, third year graduate student, ran the demo show along with Caitlin Hansen. Pottebaum commented, “I had a lot of fun and I think (hope) the students did too! Caitlin and I decided to up the ante a bit from previous demo shows we’ve done and really lean into the explosions and fire.”
Aaron Greenberg, third year graduate student, stated, “I designed the event Not That Battery, an event which had the students using aluminum foil, saltwater soaked paper towels, and graphite powder to build the biggest batteries they could. It’s my goal every year to create an event that’s challenging and gets the kids to solve a problem. Building these batteries can be finicky, and I was proud of all of the students for all making functional batteries, without any extra guidance from the volunteers. Everyone seemed to have a blast building the battery and reveling in the mess that the graphite powder allowed them to make. Many of our teams were able to produce some very interesting battery designs, showing some real creativity and ingenuity with their designs that’s always heartening to see.”
Elise Le Boulicaut Ennis, postdoctoral associate, helped with the “Not that battery” experiment, led by Aaron Greenberg, third year graduate student. Le Boulicaut Ennis stated, “This was my first time participating in YPO, and I was impressed at the enthusiasm and creativity of the students. I overheard many groups applying the scientific method to attempt to make their experiments better, trying different things and adapting their approach based on the results. And they seemed to be having a lot of fun in the process! One student asked about research opportunities at Yale, which proves that events like these are key to shaping their interest and motivation in physics. I will definitely participate again!”
Prakhar Garg, Research Scientist, led the “Accelerate the Positive” event with great help from Helen Caines, Ryan Hamilton, and Devon Finlay in its design and execution. Garg stated, “As part of this year’s Physics Olympics, students took part in an electrifying event called “Accelerate the Positive”. The event centered around putting together solenoid coils that use electromagnetic forces to launch small metal balls on a 4 ft track sloped at a fixed angle. Participants applied real-world physics concepts such as electromagnetism, energy transfer, and gravity to organize their accelerators. The goal was to achieve the greatest speed. The event sparked enthusiasm and creativity among the competitors, highlighting the exciting ways physics can be applied beyond the classroom.”
A few of the coaches commented on the event:
Cheryl Granger, coach of the PhOtonic Fource team from EO Smith High School commented, “I wanted to thank you again for a great day! We love doing these kinds of challenges in our science club and competitions. Please also thank the individuals that ran the demos - they were very entertaining! And, give a special thanks to the people that ran the lunch for going out of their way to find a gluten-free meal for my student.”
Luke Rosnick, coach of the G Force team from Guilford High School commented, “Thanks as always for a lovely event. My students had a great time and everyone’s hard work made it so easy for us all to enjoy the event. Much appreciated. Looking forward to next year.”
YPO is an all-day physics competition for Connecticut and surrounding area high school students and teachers, established in 1998 by former Yale Physics professor Con Beausang, and is free for registered teams. Representing their high school or learning institution, students compete in teams of four to complete a pentathlon of a variety physics-themed activities. Different every year, they can involve: measuring an unknown quantity, optimizing a process, or constructing a device to perform a function. One event is always a quiz consisting of Fermi Problems, which require combining clever quantitative guesses to produce a good final estimate of some unknown number.
Images are copyrighted by Iris Ponce and Andrew Tamis, graduate students, and Prakhar Garg, Research Scientist, credit must be given if you use them. See below for the full album.