The Power of Physics: A Young Physicist's Story

The 53rd International Physics Olympiad was held in person in Tokyo, Japan from July 10-17, 2023, with participants from more than 80 countries.

The Armenian team, which included 5 students, won 1 silver and 4 bronze medals. Hovsep Karapetyan, a 12th-grade student at the National Polytechnic University of Armenia (NPUA) high school, who is now studying in the Yerevan State University's 2nd coursework, won the silver medal.

As part of the special "BnaGit" project, Stemnews.am spoke with Hovsep Karapetyan to learn how his journey in physics began, how winning at the international Olympiad changed his life, what plans he has for his studies, and what interests he has besides physics.

-Hovsep, how did you end up in the field of physics?

-I started learning physics in 7th grade, like all school students. At that time, I wasn't deeply interested in it. Of course, I tried to do it, but there wasn't a desire to learn. Then everything changed when in 9th grade I started attending preparatory courses to get into the Polytechnic high school. That's when I met my current mentor Mr. Petrosyan. He made a huge contribution to making me love physics. You could say he opened up that world to me from a different perspective. Along the way, with his help, everything started working out, and when something works out, you start becoming more interested. Like a snowball, the interest grew. I naturally entered this field.

-Did you understand then that physics was for you?

-Yes. Until 9th grade, I had no idea at all that I would go in this direction. I was sure that chemistry was my direction. But then my life completely changed.

-You mentioned your mentor; can you tell us who else helped you in this field?

-When I got into Polytechnic, I started learning from very good specialists. Later I met teachers from the Physics and Math school, started attending groups there. Everyone has some contribution, but the biggest contribution is from Mr. Petrosyan.

-And what's the most interesting thing about physics for you?

-The deeper I got into physics, the more interesting it became. There are phenomena that are very surprising, but besides that, they occur very often in real life. For example, if we sit in a car with a helium balloon, and the car accelerates, you might intuitively think that the balloon should go backward, but exactly the opposite happens: the balloon goes forward. This is impossible to understand without delving deep into physics. Such phenomena made me become more interested in physics.

-You received a silver medal at the International Olympiad. What was that like, can you describe it?

-It was very unexpected. Even before that, we studied a lot, tried, but having such a result was unexpected for me. Of course, it brought very pleasant pride that our country's flag was raised next to the flags of many large countries.

-Are there memorable stories that have inspired you, motivated you?

-I was motivated by my failures. Before participating in this international Olympiad, I participated in another international Olympiad, simply didn't win any medal. That motivated me.

-Can you remember the most emotional moment during the competition?

-During the Olympiad's closing ceremony, they announce who won what prize. First they announce bronze medalists, then silver, then gold. I assumed I would get bronze. When they announced the bronze medalists' names, announced our teammates' names, I realized my name wasn't called, I got very scared. I thought - did I write that badly? I looked at our team leaders, realized they weren't that upset, they had happy faces. When they announced my name, I was somewhat prepared already, but it was still unexpected. I think that was the most emotional moment.

-What did this victory change in your life?

-Perhaps some recognition, besides that - it gave a very big responsibility, inspiration to study more. Because if I earned that medal, then some people will know me by that medal, and I need to try to live up to their opinion in the future. That motivated me and obligated me to go further. You could say this was my second beginning in the field of physics.

-Which physicist scientists inspire you?

-We have things to learn from everyone. For example, Newton. During his time there was a virus spreading, they had to stay locked at home, and that's when he started engaging in science, self-educating, developing. Other scientists inspire with their stories too. I think the most important thing they teach is to not give up, not get discouraged and always strive to move forward.

-How do you envision your future and the future of Armenian science?

-In my opinion, science in Armenia is not in a very good state now, and I might be wrong, but I think we have a lack of good specialists. In any field, but especially in physics, which I'm more or less familiar with, I feel a lack of good specialists. In my opinion, the only way to fix this is organizing similar Olympiads or competitions, because the main task of the Olympiad is not to choose the smartest one, but participation - it naturally carries an educational nature. It has great educational potential for youth. Such events need to be organized more.

-Do you have plans related to your studies, do you plan to continue your education at another university abroad?

- I don't know completely yet, but even if I study in other countries, I must definitely return and invest what I've learned into our country's future. I think that's quite logical. Because I think education in Armenia is still good, but we can strive for more. That's how it can be done - go, get knowledge from other places and bring it back, develop your own country.

-Is there any project you've planned to do in the field of physics to develop it in Armenia?

-Not yet, I haven't built a perspective yet. Presumably I'll have such an idea in the future.

-And besides physics, what else inspires you in life?

-I really love watching movies - especially in the science fiction genre. For example, one of my favorite movies is "Dune" with its first and second parts. They allow you to look at the world with -different eyes, develop new perspectives. Besides class, I try to spend time with my friends. The friends I studied with during the Olympiads, that friendship continues between us. I maintain contact, and try that we meet often, spend time together. Besides that, when I'm alone at home, I try to find an interesting topic, study it, and that's how I rest. I was talking with someone, they told me: "As I understood, your hobby is learning itself." That might sound strange, but I really do rest that way.

-Do you have favorite books?

-Not now, but about 2-3 years ago I read a lot of Stephen King's books. There were serious ideas brought up there that I thought about. But when my busyness increased, I dropped that activity.

-What advice would you give to young people who want to engage in science?

-The first thing I would advise is not getting discouraged and always striving for more. Because when we start studying some field, at first there will be many failures, many things won't work out, they will be very difficult to grasp, and that's very normal. For example, in my first Olympiad I got 0 points, in the second - 2 points out of 30. If I had gotten discouraged after those, I wouldn't have achieved this much. Making mistakes is the best way of learning.

Details in the video.