The 44th International Youth Olympiad in Chemistry officially opened on July 22, 2012 in Washington D.C. Teams from 73 countries worldwide declared their participation in the Olympiad this year. Grand opening event for the young chemists was held at the
University of Maryland - one of the best universities in the world.

Participants of the Olympiad were welcomed by the U.S. President Barack Obama, Nobel Laureates Ahmed Zevayl and Richard Shrok, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the American Chemical Society William Carroll, Governor of Maryland Martin O'Malli and others.

Winners of the Ukrainian Olympiad in Chemistry in 2012 Ihor Chernyukh (Zhashkiv, Zhovkva district, Lviv region), Dmytro Shybanov (Sevastopol), Iryna Zaporozhets' (Bayrak, Balakliysky district, Kharkiv region), Andriy Stel'mach (Truskavets', Lviv region.) represent Ukraine this year.

After the Olympiad, the results of which will be known later, the participants visited the Embassy of Ukraine in the U.S., where they had met with the Ambassador of Ukraine to the United States Olexander Motsyk.

During the meeting the Ambassador thanked the children for their participation in the Olympiad, noting that a worthy representation of our country at this international event will be a sign of high scientific prestige of Ukraine in the world, and wished the young Ukrainian chemists further success in the scientific field.