The 2022 University Physics Competition began on Friday, November 4, 2022, at 6pm MDT (Mountain Daylight Time), when the contest problems were posted here.

Problem A: Deflecting an Asteroid
Consider an asteroid with a diameter of 100 meters on a trajectory to directly impact the Earth at a speed of 25 km/s. To deflect this asteroid, we put a spacecraft into low Earth orbit with a mass of 20,000 kg, including both fuel and spacecraft. How much time before Earth impact would our craft need to hit the asteroid, to make it miss the Earth?

Problem B: FIFA Penalty Kicks
In the game of FIFA football/soccer, when a penalty kick is taken, one player takes a single shot at the goal, which is only defended by the opposing team's goalkeeper. The kick is taken with the ball at the penalty mark, a point centered 11 meters from the goal, which is a rectangle 7.32 meters wide and 2.44 meters tall. To avoid the goalkeeper, the shooting player often aims for an upper corner of the goal. What initial ball velocities and spins will result in a successful shot to an upper corner from the penalty mark? What initial ball velocity and spin should the shooting player attempt to create to have the best chance of avoiding the goalkeeper and making the goal?

Results of the 2022 University Physics Competition were posted on January 17, 2023.

Full results announcement and complete listing of all medals in the 2022 University Physics Competition

We are very pleased to announce the results of the thirteenth annual University Physics Competition. The University Physics Competition is an international contest for undergraduate students, who worked in teams of up to three students at their home colleges and universities all over the world, and spent 48 hours during the weekend of November 4, 5, & 6, 2022, analyzing a scenario using the principles of physics, and writing a formal paper describing their work.

In this year’s competition 417 teams submitted papers for judging. 230 teams selected “Problem A – Deflecting an Asteroid” and 187 teams selected “Problem B – FIFA Penalty Kicks.”

For Problem A, the Gold Medal Winning Teams were:

Team 346: Andreas Constas

Institution: University of Toronto, Canada

Faculty Sponsor: Myrtede Alfred

Team 346's 2022 Problem A Gold Medal Winning Paper

Team 395: Wang Donglai, Tang Rui, & Zhou Ziwei

Institution: Tongji University, China

Faculty Sponsor: Zhang JanWei

Team 395's 2022 Problem A Gold Medal Winning Paper

Team 425: Jan Dobrakowski, Wojciech Smialek, & Ignacy Stachura

Institution: University of Warsaw, Poland

Faculty Sponsor: Pawel Sidorczak

Team 425's 2022 Problem A Gold Medal Winning Paper

Team 460: He Zhongmou, Sun Sizhe, & Lu Junjie

Institution: Shanghai Jiao Tong University Joint Institute, China

Faculty Sponsor: Alfonso Reina

Team 460's 2022 Problem A Gold Medal Winning Paper

For problem B, the Gold Medal Winning Teams were:

Team 358: Ding Yangyidi, Wen Xueyun, & Huang Yingxue

Institution: Tongji University, China

Faculty Sponsor: Ma Yan

Team 358's 2022 Problem B Gold Medal Winning Paper

Team 471: Wu Luofu, Hu Yu, & Zhang Shuai

Institution: National University of Defense Technology, China

Faculty Sponsor: Zhang Sen

Team 471's 2022 Problem B Gold Medal Winning Paper
 

Team 480: Li Kelin, Xiong Qi, &Yang Yuchao

Institution: National University of Defense Technology, China

Faculty Sponsor: Peng Gang

Team 480's 2022 Problem B Gold Medal Winning Paper

Of the 417 papers submitted in this year’s University Physics Competition, 7 teams (1.7%) were ranked as Gold Medal Winners, 79 teams (19%) were ranked as Silver Medal Winners, 108 teams (26%) were ranked as Bronze Medal Winners, and 223 teams (53%) were ranked as Accomplished Competitors.

We extend our sincerest congratulations to each of the competing teams for their excellent work and their enthusiasm for physics!

Kelly S. Cline

Carroll College; Helena, Montana, United States

Director of the University Physics Competition

www.uphysicsc.com