The University Physics Competition 2024

The University Physics Competition is an international contest for undergraduate students, where teams of three from universities worldwide spend 48 continuous hours analysing a real-world physics problem and writing a formal paper. 

In 2024, the competition ran from 2 Nov, 8:00 am to 4 Nov, 8:00 am. At the start of the competition, we were given two problems to choose from:

1. Space Station Air Evacuation Time
2. Mars Electrical Power

Our team, comprising of Lai Jian Hou, Lim Kian Yong and Tan Wei Liang, chose Question A to solve. To structure our work efficiently, we used Overleaf as our primary document editor, as the use of LaTeX allowed for well-organised figures and mathematical equations.

Figure 1: The team is discussing the possible approaches to the problem.

Some of the biggest challenges we faced were to be able to quickly catch up on the necessary knowledge for the problem, and to produce high-quality results within a limited timeframe. Our approach involved modelling the problem using isentropic and choked flow, concepts that were relatively new to us as undergraduates. Despite the difficulty, we divided the work among ourselves while ensuring a cohesive final paper through discussions and collaboration. 

Figure 2: Wei Liang multitasking with his laptop and his two monitors.

After 48 gruelling hours, we managed to submit our completed report with great sighs of relief. We are excited to share that our team, Team 159, won the silver medal, placing us in the top 15-20% among 534 teams! 

Figure 3: We won the silver medal, ranking among the top 15-20% of 534 teams!

Figure 4: Certificate of achievement.

We sincerely appreciate the School of Physics, USM for giving us the opportunity to participate in this competition, and for allowing us to stay overnight in the postgraduate room through its duration. Special thanks to our faculty sponsor, Dr. John Soo Yue Han, for partially sponsoring our registration fee and sharing his valuable insights and experiences before the competition! 

Figure 5: The team poses for a group photo with the certificate. From left to right: Tan Wei Liang, Lai Jian Hou, and Lim Kian Yong.