Supported by the Ministry of Education, Saudi Arabia, Mawhiba, and the King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals, the Asia Physics Olympiad was successfully organized in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, from May 4 to 12, 2025. (1) A total of 224 students from 30 countries or territories participated in the 25th Asian Physics Olympiad: Australia (8), Azerbaijan (5), Bangladesh (8), China (8), Chinese Taipei (8), Hong Kong (8), Indonesia (8), India (7), Iran (7), Japan (8), Kazakhstan (8), Kyrgyzstan (8), Kuwait (6), Macau (8), Malaysia (8), Mongolia (8), Oman (8), Qatar (5), Republic of Korea (8), Russia (7), Saudi Arabia 1 (8), Saudi Arabia 2 (8)*, Singapore (8), Romania (8)*, Thailand (8), Türkiye (8), Turkmenistan (4), United Arab Emirates (7), Uzbekistan (8), and Vietnam (8).

At the end of the competition, the absolute winner/first place winner is given to Hyeokjoon Lee (South Korea). The second place winner is Zhang, Jingsong (China), and the third place winner is Han, Yicao, (China). Also, the APhO president’s Book Prize for the best participant from the host nation is given to Mazen Zaid Alshakhs (Saudi Arabia).

The Association of Asia Pacific Physical Society (AAPPS) provides an award for the best girl student: Yegenbergenova Nurgul (Kazakhstan) (Fig. 5). This latter award is also endorsed by the Working Group 5 of the International Union of Pure and Applied Physics (IUPAP) on Women in Physics and the Women in Physics Working Group of AAPPS. The prize comes with a certificate and a token award of US $100.

Yegenbergenova Nurgul (top row, second from the left)

 Full size image