TEHRAN – In a remarkable achievement, Iranian students won five gold medals, ranking first in the 17th International Olympiad on Astronomy and Astrophysics (IOAA) which was held from August 17 to 27 in Vassouras, state of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

The five-member team comprised Hannaneh Khorramdashti, Mohammad-Mehdi Keshavarzi, Arya Fateh-Kerdari, and Ali Naderi-Lordjan, Mehr news agency reported.

This year, over 250 students from 57 countries participated in the event.

In the 16th International Olympiad on Astronomy and Astrophysics which was held last year in Chorzow, Poland, the Iranian team took five medals, ranking third.

Amir-Mehdi Esmaeili-Taheri, Mehdi Ostad-Mohammadi, and Arvin Rasoulzadeh were awarded gold medals, while Sarina Farzadnasab and Amir-Hossein Mousavifard won silver medals.

Britain and India won first and second place respectively. The United States, Brazil, Bulgaria, Romania, Germany, and Canada followed Iran in the ranking.

Iran ranked first in the world in the 15th IOAA which was held at Kutaisi in Georgia from August 14 to 22, 2022.

The International Olympiad on Astronomy and Astrophysics (IOAA) is one of the twelve International Science Olympiads. Founded by five countries (Thailand, Indonesia, Iran, China, and Poland), its first edition took place in Thailand in 2007.

The competition aims to foster interest in astronomy and astrophysics among young people from participating countries, as well as to strengthen ties between different nations and promote the exchange of scientific and cultural knowledge and experiences.

Intl. successes

A team of Iranian students won five gold medals in different fields of research in the 9th edition of the '1Idea 1World' International Innovation, Design & Startup Competition.

The event, which is considered one of the biggest international idea and technology competitions in the world, was held in the city of Istanbul, Turkey, on April 28-29.

Participants from 24 countries including Iran, Canada, China, Taiwan, The United States, Malaysia, Indonesia, and the United Arab Emirates participated in the competition both in person and online to showcase their innovative projects in 10 different subgroups such as medicine and agriculture, IRNA reported.

From among 273 different innovative ideas, the top five ideas received special awards, with two of the awards going to Iranian participants.

In the Taiwan International Science Fair (TISF) 2024, which was held from January 28 to February 2, the Iranian team ranked fourth among 28 countries.

Mehrad Faridi and Ilya Haji from Iran competed with 41 teams during the five-day event which was hosted by the capital city of Taipei, IRIB reported.

Iran ranked fourth next to Taiwan, the United States, and Russia.

Attending the 40th Annual Science Olympiad Tournament at Michigan State University, Iranian students managed to win a bronze medal and two diplomas of honor.

A total of 114 teams from 84 countries presenting 310 scientific projects participated in the competition, Mehr news agency reported.

The competition Is held annually for students aged 12 – 18 from June 1 to 15.

Supported by Oxford University, the competition was held in two stages in the fields of technical engineering, computer science, energy, biological science, social science, art, and robotics.

MT/MG