Chemistry Olympiad

The pharmacist Wiebke Saal is trying to find a molecule at Roche. The aim is to help people with intestinal disorders. The problem is that nobody knows what causes this type of illness. What can we do?

Wendelin Stark took part in the Chemistry Olympiad 30 years ago. Today, he is a professor and heads the Scientific Committee of IChO 2023. In this interview, he and Nevena Paunović talk about how the Olympiad has influenced their lives and careers.

April 15: Four winners of this year’s Swiss Chemistry Olympiad were awarded gold medals at ETH Zurich. They are among the 300 young people from over 90 countries who will compete in the International Chemistry Olympiad (IChO) in July. The competition will be held for the first time in Switzerland.

Itzel from Mexico and Ivan from Russia both live in Zurich and have two things in common: They’ve participated in the International Science Olympiad and are now involved in organising the International Chemistry Olympiad IChO 2023 in Zurich, bringing together young people from 90 countries.

Chlorine - you probably know that this gas is toxic and that it is used as a disinfectant in swimming pools, for example. But did you know that you can safely make it yourself in small quantities?

While the Scientific Committee takes care of everything needed to guarantee a smooth running of the exams, the Organising Committee works on the many other things that are needed to host the International Chemistry Olympiad IChO 2023 in Switzerland.

Mid-January, 50 curious young people from Ticino, French- and German-speaking Switzerland, and Liechtenstein met at the University of Bern. They went to research labs and learned new things from researchers. At the end, they solved 12 chemistry problems. 17 young people succeeded particularly well.