Maryland State “You Be the Chemist” winner takes the National Championship in Washington D.C.
Congratulations to Ellicott City seventh grader, Anurag Sodhi on winning the 2019 “You Be the Chemist” finals June 17, 2019
Maryland Chemical is so proud of Ellicott City Native Anurgag Sodhi, who won both the local and state challenges for the “You be the Chemist” Baltimore region (local) and Maryland (state) challenges, he has gone on to capture the National win!
The Chemical Educational Foundation (CEF) on Monday June 17th, 2019 hosted its 15th annual National You Be The Chemist Challenge® in Washington, DC. CEF, a nonprofit organization dedicated to inspiring students to pursue chemistry and STEMrelated learning and careers, welcomed 42 students from around the country to compete onstage at the Omni Shoreham Hotel in a quiz-bowl style chemistry competition hosted by Dr. Calvin Emanuel of Shell Chemical LP. Each of the participants won at the state level before advancing to the national level.
Anurag Sodhi, a seventh-grader from Ellicott City, MD, answered 66 questions over the course of nine intense rounds. He entered a single-elimination tiebreaker round when he and Yuvan Chali, an eighth-grader from Frontenac, MO, remained tied at the end of the championship round. Both participants answered seven tiebreaker questions correctly before Anurag secured his spot as the National You Be The Chemist champion on the eighth question. “It’s incredibly exciting to watch these kids compete onstage. They have worked so hard to make it here, and seeing them experience the intensity and thrill of the National Challenge in real time is fun for everyone involved,” said CEF Executive Director Dwayne Sattler. “One of the most unique things about this event is that it brings together so many of the people rooting for these participants in one place – parents, teachers, volunteers, and industry sponsors and supporters who know that these kids are the future of their workplaces.”
Maryland Chemical President, Jeanette Glose Partlow, who brought the “You be the Chemist” competition to Baltimore as her 2014 DOTY (National Chemistry Distributor Association Distributor of the Year) legacy project was excited beyond belief “To have a student, not just from the local, but the state challenge make it to the National competition and win really makes supporting this cause so very gratifying. Congratulations Anurgag! We, at Maryland Chemical, are very proud of you.”
The top 4 winners received scholarship checks to be used for higher education later in their academic careers: 1st Place: Anurag Sodhi, 7th grade, Ellicott City, MD – $12,000 scholarship 2nd Place: Yuvan Chali, 8th grade, Frontenac, MO – $6,000 scholarship 3rd Place: Jiarui Peng, 7th grade, Niantic, CT – $3,000 scholarship 4th Place: Daniel Kaganovich, 8th grade, San Jose, CA – $1,500 scholarship.
CEF’s You Be The Chemist programs are designed to inspire students, engage educators, and strengthen communities to build a better world through the science of chemistry. Last year, You Be The Chemist reached more than 650,000 students across the country. More information about the National Challenge can be found at www.chemed.org