Hassan Saei Dehghan, Deputy Director of National Organization for Development of Exceptional Talents and Young Researchers, told MNA the Iranian Astronomy and Astrophysics team managed to claim the world championship title by winning three gold, four silver and three bronze medals at the 9th edition of the International Olympiad of Astronomy and Astrophysics (IOAA).
Fatemeh Zargarbashi, Arman Vasighzadeh, and Ali Zareh each won a gold medal, while Saeid Hojjatinejad, Seyyed Morteza Sadat, Mohammad Hadi Sotoudeh and Alireza Arjmand-Shakouri each grabbed a silver medal. Ali Chegini, Parsa Norouzi and Seyyed Ali Hadian-Emraei were awarded a bronze medal.
In addition to the medals, Arman Vasighzadehn was awarded the special prize of best score for data analysis; Fatemeh Zargarbashi was awarded the special prize for most creative student and Ali Zareh claimed the special prize for best score for theory.
The 9th International Olympiad of Astronomy and Astrophysics (IOAA) with 41 participating countries was held from 26 July to 4 August, 2015 in Semarang, a city on the north coast of the Island of Java, Indonesia.
International Olympiad of Astronomy and Astrophysics (IOAA) is an annual event for highly performed high school students from all around the world.
Established in Thailand 2006, it was initiated by five countries including Iran, Thailand, Indonesia, China and Poland with the aim to proliferate Astronomy among high school students. Iran hosted IOAA in 2009.