Silver Medal in 55th Mendeleev Olympiad

Nir Cohen, silver medalist at the 2021 Mendeleev Chemistry Olympiad

Nir Cohen of Moshav Neta’im, an 11th-grade student at the Gymnasia HaRealit High School in Rishon LeZion, won a silver medal at the 55th Mendeleev Chemistry Olympiad, which took place online this year with the participation of 25 countries. The Mendeleev Olympiad has been held for 55 years, and Israel has participated in the event since 2016. The team was trained at the Schulich Faculty of Chemistry at the Technion, under the guidance of Professor Zeev Gross and the team’s head coach, Dr. Izana Nigel-Etinger.

At the end of the process, which included three selection phases and intensive practice sessions, eight students had the privilege of being chosen to participate in the Olympiad: Nir Cohen, an 11th-grade student at the Gymnasia HaRealit High School in Rishon LeZion; Noya Dishon, an 11th-grade student at the Ort Psagot High School in Karmiel; Itamar Steinitz, a 12th-grade student at the Kfar Hayarok School in Ramat Hasharon; Salakh Bshara, a 12th-grade student at the Ibrahim Kassam Amal Multidisciplinary School in Tira; Sean Cherneyev, a 12th-grade student at the Darca Danciger School in Kiryat Shmona; Neta Eiger, a 10th-grade student at the Shaked Darca Secondary School in Sde Eliyahu; Simion Kotliar, a 10th-grade student at the Third Comprehensive School in Ashdod; and Sheli Skop, a 12th-grade student at the Kfar Hayarok School in Ramat Hasharon.

Prof. Gross, who is head of Youth Programs at the Faculty of Chemistry, said, “The importance of participating in the Mendeleev Olympiad goes above and beyond the experience and the privilege because it prepares and seasons the students for the IChO, the International Chemistry Olympiad, in which 84 countries take part.”

This year, the IChO will be held online from July 25 to August 2.

The four International Olympiads in Sciences for Youth are the product of a joint venture between the Future Scientists Center, established by the Maimonides Fund, and the Israeli Ministry of Education, which are also deeply involved in processes of examination, lessons learned, and policy crafting.

Great chemistry: the Technion-trained Israeli team at the 55th Mendeleev Chemistry Olympiad.