INTERNATIONAL RESEARCH OLYMPIAD
Premier Academic Team (part)
The IRO Board of Advisors consists of academics, olympiad experts, and research professionals. IRO has received strong academic support from professors at leading global universities such as Harvard, Stanford, and Caltech to develop the competition format, exam content, and evaluation criteria with the IRO team.
Dr. George Djorgovski
The professor of Astronomy and Data Science at the Caltech, the Senior Data Science Advisor for the W. M. Keck Foundation, the President Emeritus at the International Astroinformatics Association, and the Professor at the Cahill Center for Astronomy and Astrophysics, with experience in over 600 publications
Dr. Gregory Fiete
The physicist and professor of physics at Northeastern University, the Fellow of the American Physical Society (APS), a PhD in physics from Harvard University, and conducted postdoctoral work at UC Santa Barbara.
Dr. Ashley Bruce
The professor at the University of Toronto, a distinguished scientist in the field of developmental biology, a Ph.D. from Harvard University and held postdoctoral research positions at Princeton University and the University of Chicago focusing on cell and animal developmental biology.
Dr. Desmond L.
The professor in Computer Science and Plant Biology at Rutgers University, once served as an Associate Professor at the University of South Australia, specialized in electrical and computer engineering during his postdoctoral period, and the Research Fellow position in Genetics at Harvard Medical School.
Dr. Otman Basir
The professor in the Electrical and Computer Engineering department at the University of Waterloo, the founder, president, and CEO of Intelligent Mechatronic Systems, and has an impressive record of over 400 publications and holds 121 issued and pending patents
Dr. Aditya Jain
The M.D. candidate at Harvard Medical School, interested in artificial intelligence (AI), medical imaging, computational synthetic biology, and medical devices, with scholarly contributions to projects in heart attacks
Dr. Erik Andersen
The geneticist at Johns Hopkins University. He is in the postdoctoral stage. His research spans molecular, quantitative, and population genetics and genomics.
Dr. Erin M. Baker
The Associate Professor in Bioanalysis with over 20 years of experience at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Her research spans proteomics, metabolomics, glycomics, lipidomics, and exposomics.
Dr. Tara Finegan
The PhD at the University of Cambridge, specializing in neurology, physiology, genetics, yeast biochemistry, and experimental embryology, and currently is an Assistant Research Professor in the Division of Biological Sciences at the University of Missouri.
Student Board (part)
The IRO Student Board of Advisors consists of student researchers at the undergraduate who have participated in science competitions and olympiads. The Student Board is dedicated to creating a fun, collaborative environment, fostering the IRO alumni network and community, and engaging students in enjoying the feast of research outcomes.
Okezue Bell
A mathematics student at Stanford University, the founder and president of Fidutam, one of the largest responsible technology civil society groups, and the youngest speaker ever at prestigious events like Web Summit and COP27.
Sahil Sood
A molecular biology student at Harvard University, a researcher at the prestigious Harvard/MIT BROAD Institute, and the cofounder and president of HYPE dedicated to social good to support over 30, 000 individuals.
Natalia Lopez
A Mechanical Engineering student at Harvard. She contributes to the Harvard Technology Review, and works with the Harvard Rocketry Team. She also dedicates time to STEMing Youth, creating free lessons for children in underrepresented communities.
Shriya Bhat
A distinguished scientist, researcher, a twotime first-place winner at the International Science & Engineering Fair, and advocates for accessible medicine, making significant contributions to the field of microbiology and STEM education.
Gopal Tadinanda
An accomplished researcher and advocate for STEM education, serves as an esteemed advisor to the 2024 IRO. With a strong background in medical research and a commitment to fostering STEM programs, he brings a wealth of experience and innovation to the advisory board.
Yashvir Sabharwal
A distinguished student board of advisor for IRO, bringing a unique perspective to the event, and has demonstrated his dedication to STEM education and research. He also is a member of the Samyak Science Society for over 3 years.
Dhruv Ramu
An executive lead and co-founder of IRO and a researcher at the University of Agricultural Sciences, Bangalore. With a profound interest in molecular and computational biology, he has conducted research at the Indian Institute of Science's computational bioengineering laboratory.
Eashan Iyer
A physics student at Brown University, and a passionate physicist. He has work experience at multiple organizations where he created a digital travel and accessible audio tour to enhance the visitor experience.
Jacob Friedman
A student at Harvard, a distinguished researcher and has made remarkable contributions to environmental science, biology, and climate justice.
The IRO Open Round is a 60-minute online exam that will test students' understanding of analytical skills and critical thinking skills through multiplechoice questions. The top 50% of students will then advance to the semifinal round which will have more complex and advanced questions.
Date：14:30-16:00, 21 December, 2024
Duration：90 minutes
Age：15-18
Location：Online/ Offline Test Center Schools
Format : 32 MCQs. A total of 5 papers, each containing 8 questions, testing competitors' analytical and critical thinking skills. Participants can choose to attempt only 4 out of the 5 papers. There won't be extra points for tackling all 5 papers. Topics in the IRO:The reading materials will be drawn from the following fields: computer science, engineering, medicine, neurology, physics, mathematics, artificial intelligence, and biology. Given the diverse range of topics covered in the papers, you can strategically allocate time based on your proficiency in each subject.
Topics in the IRO : The reading materials will be drawn from the following fields: computer science, engineering, medicine, neurology, physics, mathematics, artificial intelligence, and biology. Given the diverse range of topics covered in the papers, you can strategically allocate time based on your proficiency in each subject.
Academic Support：The Organizing committee will provide free sample papers and learning materials for students.
Advancement Rules：Students who win gold, silver and bronze medals will then advance to the semi-finals.
Award Setting：
- Gold Medal
- Silver Medal
- Bronze Medal
- Excellent Award: Top 80%
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This phase introduces more complex and advanced questions. A small number of subjective questions are added. The interlocutor will ask open-ended questions so as to competitors to better evaluate competitors' abilities to express and comprehend scientific concepts.
Date：21 March-23 March 2025 (Friday-Sunday.)
Location：Shanghai (Offline)
Format：
Written Exam：A total of 4 papers, each containing 6 multiple choice questions (1 point per question ) and 2 free response questions(FRQs) (4 points per question). Participants will respond to FRQs by writing a short paragraph (1-5 sentences) in response to research prompts.
Research Presentation and Academic Defense：Participants will have 5 minutes to demonstrate their understanding and analytical skills based on a research paper and the guiding question provided. The top 30 participants will have a chance to defend at the Global Champion Round.
Academic Impromptu Q&A：Each participant will answer 3-5 on-site impromptu critical thinking questions asked by the IRO academic judge, with the difficulty level progressively increasing.
Award Setting：
- Super Gold: Top 5 overall
- Gold Medal: Top 20%
- Silver Medal: Top 40%
- Bronze Medal: Top 60%
- Excellent Award: Top 80%
- Advancement Rules: Students with the Super Gold Medal will have the opportunity to be invited to the Final Round.
| Agenda | Morning | Afternoon | Evening |
|---|---|---|---|
| D1 | Arrival and Check-in | Research Carnival-1:
IRO Academic Workshop |
|
| D2 | Opening Ceremony:
Written Exam |
IRO Research Presentation
and Academic Defense |
Research Carnival-2:
Face-to-face Communicate with IRO chairs, Social Party |
| D3 | Academic Impromptu Q&A | Closing & Award Ceremony | Departure |
Highlight in the Semi-Finals: Research Carnival
The core members of the IRO Board of Advisors will present in the Semi-Finals of China and share the feast event with Chinese scholars!
Photo Gallery
Winners of the Super Gold Award from various global regions will compete for the championship. This round not only includes a written exam but also features sections for "Free Response Questions" and "Oral Q&A", further challenging young scholars' analytical and critical thinking skills.Date：20 June-22 June, 2025
Location：Harvard University, USA
Format：In addition to paper reading and questions, the finals at Harvard University include a variety of engaging and academic activities, such as team Q&A challenges and scientific academic expression challenges. The IRO will also invite professors from the academic committee to share their research experiences and cutting-edge scientific discoveries. Most importantly, participants will have the opportunity to communicate with the strongest research competitors from around the world.
Award Setting：IRO Gold, Silver, and Bronze Medals!
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