The United States Association for Young Physicists Tournaments history began when Tengiz Bibilashvili, Greg Jacobs, and Bruce Oldaker came together in 2005 to design a tournament for the purpose of spreading pedagogical methodology of preparing and conducting the “physics fight.” This tournament is about doing physics research, not taking tests, and ever since the first tournament in early 2007 has been training high school students to conduct college-level research theoretically and experimentally and to defend their findings to peers and jurors, composed of professional physicists, educators, and industry members.

The tournament mechanics were designed by Tengiz, Greg, and Bruce, to support USAYPT’s Philosophy. They met in the early 2000s at an AP Physics reading and shared an interest in supporting the United States’ representation at the International Young Physicists’ Tournament. And thus, the United States Invitational Young Physicists Tournament (USIYPT) was born.

The first tournament was hosted in 2007, as a one-day event and included five teams, all from the United States. When the number of teams grew, so did the tournament! Today, the USIYPT runs over two days, including preliminary rounds, finals, and a poster presentation session. Teams come from all over the country and the world to compete, and the number of schools involved is always growing. The caliber of presentations has skyrocketed, and students often cite the rigor and collegiality of YPT as highlights of their high school careers. Many of our jurors join us year after year even as the location rotates around the country, and many students stay involved as jurors (or even coaches!) long after graduating high school. The community that Tengiz, Greg, and Bruce began in the early 2000s continues to grow as we promote the future of physicists around the world.