Never before has the study of chemistry been more exciting and relevant than it is today. Everything that exists in the world is made up of atoms. How atoms interact and bond with each other determines the property of substances and therefore, along with design and construction, the functionality of an item. Chemistry is much more than tables and formulae - it is about understanding the nature of life, industrial processes, matter and the environment.

The Chemistry Scholar Training School is held at the Australian National University. Team Training takes place in April for one week and again for about one week in a climate and time zone similar to that of the International Chemistry Olympiad.

Understanding the fundamental concepts and relevance of a wide range of chemistry topics is the key focus of the Program. The ASO uses the following texts for the Chemistry Scholar Program:

- Silberberg, Martin. Chemistry: The Molecular Nature of Matter and Change, 3rd edition.McGraw-Hill ISBN 0-07-239681-4
- Clayden, Wothers, Greeves, Warren and Wothers. Organic Chemistry,Oxford University Press 2005. ISBN -13: 978-0-19-850346-0

We thank Oxford University Press and McGraw-Hill Publishers for donating text books to the Australian Chemistry Olympiad Program.

2008 Chemistry Team Returns Triumphant!

The 2008 Australian Chemistry Team has returned from the 40^th International Chemistry Olympiad held in Budapest, Hungary. Superb results: each Team member returned from this International competition with a medal. Congratulations! For more news on the 2008 team, go here.

Updated 9 September 2008