Undeterred by COVID-19 and the many adjustments it has entailed, the 2020-2021 Middlesex Physics Teams had their best year ever participating in the annual PhysicsBowl competition, hosted by the American Association of Physics Teachers (AAPT).
The PhysicsBowl is a challenging, 40-question multiple-choice test, taken this year by 5800 students around the world, including 46 Middlesex students. Middlesex competes in Region 3 (New England schools, both public and private), with first-year students (AP Physics 1 classes) competing in Division 1 and second-year students (AP Physics 2 and AP Physics C) competing in Division 2. Team scores consist of the top five scores from each school.
This year, the School’s Division 1 team came in second in Region 3, while in Division 2, Middlesex was the Region 3 champion! Additionally, Brian Choi ’21 was the top individual Division 2 scorer.
With a score of 112, the Division 1 team was led by scores of 23 from Henry Brown ’22, Julian Dai ’22, and Oliver Mitchell ’22. Mariam Craig ’22 added 22 points to the team tally, and either Annabel Austen ’22 or Adam Ewing ’22 contributed the final 21 points. Also beating the national average score of 16.1 were Lucas DeGreeff ’22 (20), Isabel Xue ’22 (19), Charlotte Bain ’22 (19), Nina Gong ’21 (18), Ethan Chang ’22 (18), and Linda Qin ’22 (17).
In Division 2, Middlesex handily won the region, earning 116 points on this more difficult test. Brian Choi’s score of 27 was the highest in the region and more than one standard deviation above the national average of 18.7. He is the first Middlesex student ever to earn the top score in Region 3. Not far behind, AP Physics 2 representative Justin Yoon ’21 earned 26 points to tie the second highest scorer in the region. The team score was rounded out by Zan Danoff ’21 (23), Ian Dhar ’21 (20), and Basha Waxman ’21 (20). Also beating the national average were Erin Davies ’21, Caleb Krueger ’21, and Otis Hutcheson ’21, who earned 19 points each.
Congratulations to all the Middlesex competitors and their faculty coaches, Tom Erickson, Sara Kate May, and Steven Mylon!