By Rachel Lin and Sam Garcia / Staff reporter, with staff writerTaiwan placed third at this year’s International Earth Science Olympiad （IESO） after winning two gold and two silver medals, with one student from Taichung earning second place overall.請繼續往下閱讀...The 19th IESO, which took place in Turin, Italy, from Aug. 20 to Thursday, drew 160 students representing 41 countries.Taichung First Senior High School student Wang Yi-cheng （王翌澄） and Kaohsiung Senior High School student Shih Tzu-hung （施子閎） earned gold medals, placing second and sixth respectively.National Experimental High School at Hsinchu Science Park student Liu Hsin-tse （劉信澤） and Tainan First Senior High School student Huang Ting-yu （黃鼎祐） earned silver medals, placing 20th and 27th respectively.Since Taiwan began participating in the Olympiad in 2007, it has won a total of 54 gold, 28 silver and three bronze medals, K-12 Education Administration official Yeh Hsin-tsun （葉信村） said.Wang has enjoyed math and science since junior-high school and found a renewed interest in Earth science after joining a high-school science program.Earth science is the branch of science most closely connected to everyday life, Wang said, adding that everything from earthquakes to climate change has made him want to better understand how the world works.The intensive training and fieldwork leading up to the Olympiad not only expanded his Earth science knowledge, but taught him time management, teamwork and how to adapt to unexpected situations, he said.Taichung First Senior High School teacher Hsu Wei-hsiu （許瑋琇） said Wang often thinks deeper about topics after understanding them, asking questions that go beyond what is covered in class.Shih, who is from Pingtung County’s Ligang Township （里港）, has been interested in Earth science since participating in a junior-high school science fair.In his first year of high school, he traveled to South Korea to attend an Earth science festival, and exchanging ideas with students from other countries inspired him to compete in the IESO.Liu has been fascinated by the universe since kindergarten, later studying astrophysics and participating in cosmology research at a university.Huang became interested in Earth science after taking an after-school astronomy class in fifth and sixth grade.He fell short in the final stage of the national team selection in a previous attempt, but this year achieved his goal of making the team.The four members of Taiwan’s team were selected from among 520 students at 95 schools across the nation through preliminary selection, a training camp and a national team selection camp led by National Taiwan Normal University professor Mary Yeh （葉孟宛）, Yeh Hsin-tsun said.Students who win gold and silver medals are eligible for scholarships of NT$200,000 and NT$100,000 respectively, as well as preferential admission to related university programs through guaranteed placement or recommendation, Yeh Hsin-tsun said.新聞來源：TAIPEI TIMES
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