Amar V Chandra , son of V Suresh Chandra,Sanm ar - PTI Filters Limited, was one of the six-member team that won the champion ship atthe Internati onal Astronomy Olympiad, 1999 held at the Crimean Astrophysical Observatory in Nauchnyj, Republic of Ukraine, between September 25 and October 2, 1999.
A preliminary examination was conducted by the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research at various planetaria and science centres in the country where nearly 3000 students took part. Of these, 1000 students were selected for a nationwide astronomy Olympiad and from these, 35 were shortlisted and finally six were chosen to represent India at the Olympiad.
As one of the six,he attended the National Astronomy Oly mpiadTraining camp held at the Nehru Science Centre, Mumbaiduring June14-29, 1999.Theteam includedVarun Bhalerao and RanchuMathew from Pune, Mayank Jha from Bhopal, Amar Chandra from Bangalore, Punyashloka Biswal from Delhi and Yousuf Fauzan from Lucknow.
The team secured the first position at the Fourth International Astronomy Olympiad. The competition involved three stages, a theoretical exam which included mathematics and physics, an observational test and practicals where raw data from the observatory had to be interpreted by students. Prof Mayank N Vahia of the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Mumbai, who led the team, was elated at the performance of our students. He said, “The standard of examinations was unexpectedly high. Yet our students managed to beat the Russians on their turf.” The final medal tally stood at : two gold (Varun – Pune and Mayank Jha – Bhopal) 3 silver (Amar Chandra – Bangalore, Punyashloka Biswal – Delhi, Yousuf Fauzan – Lucknow) and one bronze (Ranchu Mathew – Pune). The team is now back home as champions.