Redmond High School senior Preetum Nakkiran is one of 20 students nationwide to qualify for the 2012 U.S. Physics Team.

Nakkiran went through a rigorous Fnet=ma exam process that began last January with about 3,600 students. The students will continue to train for the exams and lab tests they will face at the 43rd International Physics Olympiad to be held from July 15–24 in Tallinn and Tartu, Estonia. More than 400 student scholars from 90 nations will test their knowledge in physics. Over the past 10 years, every U.S. Physics Team member traveling to the international competition has returned with a medal.

An integral part of the U.S. Physics Team experience is the training camp. Most of the students invited to the camp are the top science student in their high school. The training camp is a crash course in the first two years of university physics. Students have an opportunity to hear about research from some of the community’s leading physicists. At the end of the training camp, five students will be selected to travel to Estonia for the international competition.

“The competition for a position on the U.S. Physics Team is intense and each student who participated in the 2012 selection process is deserving of recognition,” said American Association of Physics Teachers Executive Officer Dr. Beth A. Cunningham. “They are the future of America’s success in physics-related fields. AAPT is honored to recognize the exceptional scholars who qualified for the team and to support their further participation in the International Physics Olympiad.”