Eunju Im, PhD.
New York Metropolitan Chapter President / KMSO Chair
Research Fellow, Nathan S. Kline Institute/NYU School of Medicine
The KSEA NY Metropolitan Chapter Math/Science Olympiad (KMSO) is dedicated to promoting and nurturing curious young minds in their pursuit of intellectual challenge, to helping them discover the joy of science and math, and to providing them with mentoring and a sense of community. What makes this Olympiad even more special is that the volunteers are undergraduate students, graduate students, professional engineers, scientists, or professors who can share their experiences and knowledge in their respective fields. Students and parents are encouraged to take advantage of the opportunities provided by the Olympiad such as speaking with volunteers and guest speakers who are more than willing to provide advice, tips, and words of encouragement.
This year marked the 27th year of KMSO. This event has grown through two decades of Korean-American history in the tristate New York Community. We sincerely thank LG Electronics USA for over 20 years of dedication to and continuous support for KMSO and the KSEA NY Metropolitan Chapter. This event was also supported by the Korea-US Science Cooperation Center (KUSCO) and kind donations from KB Park CPA and Dr. Kang-Wook Lee as well as support from the Andrew Kim Foundation, Schrödinger, St. John’s University, the Consulate General of Korea in New York, and the NYC Government.
We had 5 science competition and 2 special competition groups:
- Science competition
- Science Entry Level for Grades 2-3 titled “Ring My Bell!” supervised by Dr. Min Jung Lee
- Science General for Grades 4-5 titled “How to live and being unique in the world?” and “Coding with Scratch” supervised by Dr. Keun Woo Park
- Science Physics (using lego-based simulation program) for Grades 6-7 titled “Sustainable future” supervised by Dr. Dugwon Seo
- Science Chemistry (computer-based Chemistry) for Grades 8-9 titled “Seeing is believing” supervised by Dr. Junyong Choi
- Science Written Exam (adoptive test) for Grades 10-11 supervised by Dr. Sae Woong Park
- Special competition
- Science Research Presentation (conference style oral presentation) for Grades 10-12 supervised by Dr. Chang Yong Nam
- Coding competition for Grades 6-12 titled “Python Coding with Karel” supervised by Dr. Jeongkyu Lee.
We had programs for parents during the Olympiad which was chaired by Dr. Ohbong Kwon. Dr. Myongkeun Oh, who is a financial professional and math teacher, presented “Financial Plans for College” to relieve the financial burden of parents and help their children go to college. Through this seminar, parents had the chance to share experiences and knowledge in Federal and State financial aids and college scholarships to support their children. Parents also were provided excellent advice to help their children be successful in the scholarship support system through effective Q&A sessions during the event with a current financial professor. With the supportive and knowledgeable feedback from the expert, parents gained powerful information on how to prepare their children for tuition and fees for attending private schools using federal government financial aid and college scholarships. This year’s parents program was enjoyable and received great feedback from the parents.
“코로나로 인해 경제적 어려움이 많았는데 장학금 및 financial aid에 관한 많은 정보를 얻을 수 있어 큰 도움이 되었다.”
“팬더믹 때문에 경시대회가 취소될 줄 알았는데 행사를 준비해주어 감사합니다. 새로운 형식을 도입하느라 많이 힘드셨을 텐데도 학부모를 위한 프로그램까지 준비하느라 수고하셨습니다. 정말 유익한 시간이었습니다. 대학 입시 준비에 꼭 필요한 강연이었습니다.”
We hope that the participants in the Olympiad had a great experience discovering the fun and excitement in problem solving and discovering something new. We look forward to the day when these same participants will come back 20 years from now as volunteers and support this community’s invaluable tradition as some of our volunteers are already doing today. We also look forward to another successful and exciting KMSO this year. Special thanks to volunteers. Without them, KMSO would not have been possible.
KSEA e-Letters 