Worldwide Youth in Science and Engineering, more commonly known as WYSE, will be hosting the Academic Challenge State Finals competition at the Illini Union from April 3 through 6.

Mary Weaver, WYSE director, has been working with the program since October 2000.

“In Academic Challenge, high school students throughout the state of Illinois compete in a battery of seven exams at three different levels,” Weaver said.

University professors throughout Illinois create tests on biology, physics, mathematics, chemistry, engineering graphics, computer science and English.

Each student takes two exams and those scores are calculated as individual scores and as part of the team score. The top two teams and the top two individuals in each category advance to the next level.

Regional competition began in February, and winners advance to sectionals in March and finally to state in April.

Weaver said about 400 schools and 5,600 students participated in the competition last year. They are expecting about the same participation this year, she said.

The Academic Challenge was designed to encourage students interested in math and science, Weaver said.

“The goal of WYSE is to attract a greater number of diverse students to careers in science and engineering,” Weaver said. “It’s just great to see the excitement that these kids have in science, math and engineering.”

University Laboratory High School WYSE coordinator Jim Carrubba supports the Academic Challenge.

“I think it gives a lot of schools a chance to reinforce their curriculum,” said Carrubba, who is in his fourth year of coordinating the competition for the school. “I’m always happy when students can use this as an opportunity to learn something outside the curriculum.”

Academic Challenge is unlike other clubs such as Scholastic Bowl, Terry Koker, Centennial High School’s WYSE coach, said.

“They aren’t trivial questions,” Koker said. “They are the exact kind of things we are teaching in the classrooms.”

At Thursday’s sectional competition, Centennial High School advanced to the state finals as the first place team with ten medallists.

Students are enthused about the competition, Koker said.

“The students get to see where they stack up academically with the best and brightest of Illinois,” he said.

Throughout the years, interest in WYSE has grown at Centennial High School.

“Reception has been excellent,” Koker said. “When I first started, I had to recruit kids, begging them to be on the team.”

With the growing number of interested students, he said he now conducts tryouts.

“I have to turn some students away, because there are so many interested students,” Weaver said. “This year it was in the mid to upper thirties.”

Thomas Malkowski, second year WYSE competitor and Centennial High School senior, placed third at sectionals in both physics and computer science.

“You get to hang out for a day and then compete and kind of compare our brains to the other people from different schools and districts,” Malkowski said.

Describing the Academic Challenge as the “Olympics for scholars,” Malkowski said he enjoys competing.

“I’ve never really been into athletics,” Malkowski said. “(Academic Challenge) kind of gives me a way to compete with others and keep myself sharp.”

Malkowski plans to major in engineering physics at the University.