The 2009 USA Biology Olympiad national finals has found 20 high school finalists, including one from Hawaii, that will be competing from June 8 to 18 at George Mason University in Virginia. Four winners will represent Team USA in the International Biology Olympiad in Tsukuba, Japan.

Among the 20 finalists is Eric Liaw from Punahou School.
“The USA Biology Olympiad national finalists are among the highest achieving biology high school students in the nation,” said Joann DiGennaro, president of the hosting Center for Excellence in Education. “The Olympiad provides scholars the opportunity to train in practical and theoretical biology.”
Nearly 10,000 students from across the nation registered for the USABO open exam this year.
The USA Biology Olympiad, in its seventh year, helps develop students’ critical thinking skills in biological reasoning.
At the USABO National finals, scholars study the fields of cellular biology, microbiology, biotechnology, plant anatomy and physiology, animal anatomy and physiology, ethology, genetics and evolution, ecology and biosystematics.