Udupi: Uttam Bhat Bags Silver Medal in Astronomy Olympiad
Daijiworld Media Network – Udupi (SM)
Udupi, Oct 12: Uttam Bhat has made entire region proud by winning a silver medal for the country in the XII International Astronomy Olympiad 2007, which was held at Crimean, Ukraine between September 30 and October 6.
A team of six students represented India, three in the senior category and 3 in junior category. Uttam was one among the 3 from the senior category. This year 23 countries participated in this event and India won 3 Gold, 2 Silver and 1 Bronze medals.
For the first time in the history of Udupi/ Dakshina Kannada district, a student has represented the country in the International Science Olympiad. Department of Science and Technology and the government of India sponsored the entire process including the overseas expenses.
Astronomy Olympiad has 2 categories – junior-level for students of standard VIII and IX and senior-level for students of standard X and XI.
The selection process for the International Astronomy Olympiad was held in 3 stages.
First Stage of Astronomy Olympiad (NSEAP): National Standard Examination in Astronomy was held on November 26, 2006. Uttam Bhat and Shreyas Shetty, students of MICE IIT-JEE, were among the top 200 students selected from the country in the senior category.
Second Stage of Astronomy Olympiad ( INAPO): Students selected in the first stage were eligible to write the Indian National Astronomy Olympiad which was held in January 2007. On the basis of performance in this examination about 30 students were short-listed from all over the country. Uttam Bhat was one among them.
Third Stage of Astronomy Olympiad:
The short-listed students were invited to the Indian Olympiad Training camps at Mumbai in May 2007. The best 6 (3 from junior category and 3 from senior category) were selected to represent India in the XII International Astronomy Olympiad.
Uttam Bhat is a talented student. He is an artist and plays the flute melodiously. He is also the recipient of the following prestigious scholarships:
- National Talent Scholar 2006 (NTSE)
- Kishore Vygyanik Prothsahana Yogana 2006 (KVPY).
Uttam is the son of Dr Gopalakrishna Bhat (Department of Bio-Chemistry –KMC, Manipal) and Vinatha Bhat from Manipal. He is a student of IIT-JEE training at MICE here.