The University Physics Competition began on Friday, November 7, 2025, at 6pm MST (Mountain Standard Time), which is 8pm EST, when the contest problems were posted here.

Problem A: Acoustic Preservation of the Electric Sasando

The sasando is a traditional Indonesian string instrument where sound is produced by vibrating strings acoustically amplified through a hand-formed, dried lontar leaf resonator. This unique resonator naturally amplifies frequencies between 98 Hz and 1047 Hz. The strings are mounted on a bamboo tube measuring 70 cm in length with a diameter of 8 cm. Modern electric versions replace the resonator with a pickup and speaker, sacrificing acoustic quality for portability. Your challenge is to develop a method for the electric sasando to replicate the authentic acoustic sound of the traditional instrument.

Problem B: Artillery

Consider a cannon 150 or 200 years ago that fired spherical 5 kg projectiles that are 11cm in diameter with a muzzle velocity of up to 450 m/s.   If our target is at a horizontal distance of 1,200 meters, and both the cannon and the target are at an altitude of 500 meters above sea level, what muzzle velocity and firing angle above the horizontal will successfully hit the target?  Then, consider targets at horizontal distances between 1,000 meters and 1,500 meters, at a variety of different altitudes, and accounting for different amounts of wind.  Develop a method that an artillery officer trained in mathematics, but lacking computers or calculators, could use to quickly estimate a successful muzzle velocity and firing angle. 

To download a printable pdf award certificate for your team, set your browser to:  http://www.uphysicsc.com/certificates2025/*.pdf

Here * is your team number.  For example if your team number is 200, this is:  http://www.uphysicsc.com/certificates2025/200.pdf

We are very pleased to announce the results of the sixteenth 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 7, 8, & 9, 2025, analyzing a scenario using the principles of physics, and writing a formal paper describing their work.

In this year’s competition 838 teams submitted papers for judging. 131 teams selected “Problem A – Acoustic Preservation of the Electric Sasando” and 707 teams selected “Problem B – Artillery.”

Of the 838 papers submitted in this year’s University Physics Competition, 16 teams (1.9%) were ranked as Gold Medal Winners, 152 teams (18%) were ranked as Silver Medal Winners, 239 teams (29%) were ranked as Bronze Medal Winners, and 431 teams (51%) were ranked as Accomplished Competitors.

For Problem A, the Gold Medal Winning Teams were:

Team 112: Lingxuan Zhou, Hongtao Wang, Cheng Lu

Institution: Chongqing University of Posts and Telecommunications

Faculty Sponsor: Jia Ran

Team 112's 2025 Problem A Gold Medal Winning Paper

Team 182: Sabrina Li, Joanna Geng, Rina Song

Institution: University of Waterloo

Faculty Sponsor: Richard Epp

Team 182's 2025 Problem A Gold Medal Winning Paper

Team 485: Guorui Liu, Ying Chen, Lingxin Bu

Institution: Nanjing University of Science and Technology

Faculty Sponsor: Haiping Wu

Team 485's 2025 Problem A Gold Medal Winning Paper

For problem B, the Gold Medal Winning Teams were:

Team 127: Donghao Zhou, Shuimiao Zhang, Hongyu Qian

Institution: Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics

Faculty Sponsor: Shuiyan Cao

Team 127's 2025 Problem B Gold Medal Winning Paper

Team 155: Zhang Shuhao, Huang Yuhang, Wang Hanshuyu

Institution: Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics

Faculty Sponsor: Ma Haixia

Team 188: Zou Shijun, Wu Zhonghua, Liang Chuhan

Institution: Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics

Faculty Sponsor: Du ChaoLing

Team 188's 2025 Problem B Gold Medal Winning Paper

Team 204: Gu Chenwang, Yu Jiahao, Zhong Zhijie

Institution: Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics

Faculty Sponsor: Kan Caixia

Team 204's 2025 Problem B Gold Medal Winning Paper

Team 207: Mingyu Liu, Weiyi Zhang, Yosh Shaw

Institution: Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics

Faculty Sponsor: Kan Caixia

Team 207's 2025 Problem B Gold Medal Winning Paper

Team 264: Nuoheng Ni, Ruya Lei, Yancheng Lin

Institution: Nanjing University of Science and Technology

Faculty Sponsor: Haiping Wu

Team 264's 2025 Problem B Gold Medal Winning Paper

Team 311: Yun'ao Peng, Chengrui Wang, Jiayuan Kang

Institution: Nanjing University of Science and Technology

Faculty Sponsor: Haiping Wu

Team 311's 2025 Problem B Gold Medal Winning Paper

Team 392: Yuanhao Li, Lihui Liu, Yuheng Mi

Institution: Nanjing University of Science and Technology

Faculty Sponsor: Haiping Wu

Team 392's 2025 Problem B Gold Medal Winning Paper

Team 428: Hongzhi Shao, Jiang Lu, Hangyu Liu

Institution: Nanjing University of Science and Technology

Faculty Sponsor: Haiping Wu

Team 428's 2025 Problem B Gold Medal Winning Paper

Team 460: Qian Wang, Jiaxin Lin, Xinguo Xia

Institution: Nanjing University of Science and Technology

Faculty Sponsor: Haiping Wu

Team 460's 2025 Problem B Gold Medal Winning Paper

Team 496: Rudro Karmokar, Sanjeeda Islam Mou

Institution: Rajshahi University of Engineering and Technology

Faculty Sponsor: Md. Faruk Hossain

Team 496's 2025 Problem B Gold Medal Winning Paper

Team 765: Zhai Junxian, Xiong Yuxuan, Zhang Yiming

Institution: National University of Defense Technology

Faculty Sponsor: Huang Ming Qiu

Team 765's 2025 Problem B Gold Medal Winning Paper

Team 796: Sun ShengBo, Yuancai Hu, Li Yawen

Institution: Tongji University

Faculty Sponsor: Ma Yan

Team 796's 2025 Problem B Gold Medal Winning Paper

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