May 29, 2012 > Local students qualify for national Biology Olympiad finals Local students qualify for national Biology Olympiad finals Submitted By Maureen Palmer The Center for Excellence in Education (CEE) is pleased to announce that two greater Tri-City high school students have been selected to attend the 10th Annual USA Biology Olympiad (USABO) National Finals from June 3-15 at Purdue University. Twenty finalists were selected based on their high scores from the USABO Open and Semifinal Exams. The Center reports that nearly 10,500 students registered nationally for the USABO. During the two weeks at Purdue, the finalists will participate in intensive theoretical and practical tutorials. The high school students will study with leading U.S. biologists who are experts in the fields of cellular biology, microbiology, biotechnology, plant anatomy & physiology, animal anatomy & physiology, ethology, genetics & evolution, ecology, and biosystematics. At the conclusion of the two weeks, students take two exams, a practical and a theoretical. The four highest scoring students are named "Team USA 2012" and will represent this nation in competition with student teams from 60 countries at the International Biology Olympiad (IBO) in Singapore July 8-15. "Team USA Members have earned gold medals at the last five International Biology Olympiad competitions, including 2011 where Team USA achieved the coveted Number One position and Team in the World", said Joann DiGennaro, President of the Center for Excellence in Education. "CEE is proud to sponsor the USABO with Purdue University and to train these high school scholars in practical and theoretical biology." Seven national finalists are from California. Other finalists represent the states of Delaware, Hawaii, Massachusetts, New Jersey, North Carolina, Texas and Virginia. California finalists include: Daniel Bork, North Hollywood High School, North Hollywood Nikhil Buduma, Bellarmine College Preparatory, San Jose Bryce Hwang, Foothill High School, Pleasanton Jing Liu, Mission San Jose High School, Fremont Rachel Paris, Santa Monica High School, Santa Monica Siddharth Trehan, Mira Loma High School, Sacramento Hamilton Trinh, Mission San Jose, Fremont For more information about the Center and its programs, visit CEE's Web site, www.cee.org