Senior to travel to Iran for international Physics competition

Hawken senior Kenan Diab has earned a spot as one of only five students to represent the U.S. at the International Physics Olympiad. The international competition will be held in Isfahan, Iran this July. In April, Kenan was selected to be a member of the United States Physics Team by the American Association of Physics Teachers (AAPT). Only 24 students throughout the country were selected. As a member of the team, Diab then attended a two-week training camp at the University of Maryland to hone laboratory and problem-solving skills and meet with some of the country`s foremost physicists. While there he also met with Sen. Sherrod Brown to discuss the importance of science and math education in the U.S. At the end of that training camp, five students were selected for the \"Traveling Team.\" The Traveling Team will return for three additional days of intense laboratory work to prepare for the international event. The U.S. Physics Olympiad Program was started in 1986 by AAPT to promote and demonstrate academic excellence. The Olympiad is a nine-day international competition among pre-university students from more than 60 nations. Throughout his high school career, Diab has studied Multivariable Calculus and Linear Algebra through Stanford University`s Education Program for Gifted Youth distance learning program and got firsthand research experience in Case Western Reserve University`s Ultrafast Optics lab. He will attend the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the fall.