First-year undergraduate students from the Division of Physics and Applied Physics in NTU’s School of Physical and Mathematical Sciences (SPMS), from left, Stephen Basatua, Tan Fei and Li Yifei.
In November 2020, a team of three physics students from SPMS took part in the University Physics Competition (UPC), an international competition for physics undergraduates. The team received a Bronze Award, given to teams placing between the top 17% to 46% amongst over 300 participating teams worldwide. The team consisted of Li Yifei, Stephen Natanael Basatua, and Tan Fei, who were all first-year undergraduate students at the time.
During the virtual competition, each team was required to choose from one of two questions and present their solution within 48 hours. The topics ranged from classical mechanics, fluid dynamics to nuclear physics.
The team was trained by Ha Quang Trung, a PhD student in SPMS who graduated from the NTU physics programme and has past experience participating in international physics competitions. Over two months of weekly sessions, Quang Trung help the team to gain the needed physics knowledge and mathematical techniques.
The team’s supervising faculty sponsor was Nanyang Assistant Professor Bent Weber, and further support was provided by Dr Koh Teck Seng.
SPMS congratulates the team for their achievements.