Hey everyone! A few people have asked me about my journey to IPhO and for advice on how to prepare. Instead of repeating myself in DMs, I figured I’d just put everything down in one place for anyone interested. To learn more about me, click here: About me
I have compiled useful resources for physics olympiads here: Resources (to be expanded over time)
My name is Eddie Chen, and I am a physics graduate from MIT with a passion for physics, math, and computer science. My journey in physics has been a rewarding one, culminating in a gold medal at the IPhO in 2021 as part of the USA team. I've also achieved success in other competitions, including a gold and platinum in the Physics Cup, a perfect score on the F=ma exam, and qualifying for the USAMO 3 times. Moreover, I’ve written problems for the F=ma and USAPhO exams. This guide shares the path I took, the resources I used, and the lessons I learned along the way.
Unlike in some other countries, the US doesn't have a super-centralized Olympiad culture right from the start of high school. It’s more of a thing you seek out. I had done many math competitions throughout middle school, and naturally I wanted to try physics. I found physics to be very interesting, and so I prepared for the F=ma exam. In 8th grade I passed the F=ma, but didn’t do well on the USAPhO. I realized I didn’t really have a good grasp of anything besides mechanics. So I studied hard (using textbooks listed below) and was selected to the US Physics Team Training Camp in 10th grade. Finally in 12th grade, I obtained an IPhO Gold medal representing the US Team.
I didn't have a formal program unfortunately, so I spent a lot of time self studying, and had to work very very hard. A cool thing I did in 8th grade was learn Java and then build my own N-body simulator to watch how gravity works. Seeing my code actually simulate planets was what really pushed me to see how far I could take physics.
It did take a lot of focused time and effort, especially since there weren’t that many good physics olympiad programs at the time. I used these undergrad physics books:
And of course, Jaan Kalda’s physics Olympiad handouts as well as Kevin Zhou’s are amazing. Whenever I got stuck on a particular problem, I would make a note of it and come back to it later. The feeling of solving a problem that stumped you for days is way better than just looking up the solution.
The single most memorable experience for me was the USAPhO training camp. It was about 1-2 weeks of intense lectures and labs. Figuring out the lab equipment was sometimes as hard as the exam problems. The camp is a really challenging experience where you get to meet people who are just as competitive and passionate.
But don’t think you have to lock yourself in a room for years. During the pandemic, when we were worried USAPhO might be cancelled, my friends and I created the Online Physics Olympiad (OPhO). We organized the whole thing, from the website to the problems. It was a massive effort but also incredibly fun and a great way to learn. The point is you can still be social and do creative things while chasing your physics goals.
I definitely wished I had gotten in touch with other olympiad contestants sooner. There are a lot of tips and tricks that can’t be found online or in textbooks, but are very useful for physics olympiads. This would have saved so much time and effort, as I was essentially trying to figure everything out on my own. However, I have compiled a lot of my insights and intuitions that I developed throughout my physics olympiad journey on this website, to hopefully save you some time and effort: My Physics Site. I will continue to add to it.