Vinícius Ferreira Rodrigues, 24, from Ceará, won a gold medal and came in third place in the overall ranking of the Physics Cup 2026, an international Physics competition that brought together 2,165 participants from 104 countries this year. The result, released on October 22, is the best ever achieved by a Brazilian in the history of the dispute, according to the researcher.
The Physics Cup is an international online Physics competition with two categories, one for high school students and the other for university students. Participants need to solve highly complex problems, considered more difficult than those proposed in Olympiads such as EuPhO, IPhO and APhO. The competition awards platinum, gold, silver and bronze medals, as well as honorable mentions to participants who manage to solve at least two of the five problems proposed by the organization.
The Ceará native competed in the university category and was only behind two students: one from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), in the United States, and another from the United Institute of Technology, in India. According to the results released by the organization, he was the only Brazilian awarded in this category.
Vinícius is currently pursuing a postgraduate degree in Physics at the University of Iowa, in the United States. The achievement was received with surprise and emotion by the researcher, who has participated in the Physics Cup since 2019.
Vinícius's relationship with Physics began unexpectedly. Until the 8th year of elementary school, his favorite subject was History. His interest in the exact area gained strength in 2015, after he failed to advance to the final phase of the National Olympiad in Brazilian History (ONHB).
Shortly afterwards, he was approved for the second phase of the Brazilian Physics Olympiad (OBF), even though he believed he knew little about the discipline.
"It seemed inconceivable that other students in the same class as me could solve those problems and I didn't even know where to start. But instead of getting discouraged, I saw it as a challenge and decided that, if they could do it, I could do it too", he recalls.
That same year, he won his first gold medal at the Brazilian Physics Olympiad (OBF). The result made him realize that he had an affinity with the discipline and transformed the initial challenge into passion.
During high school at a private school in Fortaleza, he also participated in a preparatory class for the entrance exams at the Technological Institute of Aeronautics (ITA) and the Military Institute of Engineering (IME). According to him, the experience allowed him to deepen his knowledge early and better organize his study routine.
After completing high school, Vinícius graduated in Computational Physics from the University of São Paulo (USP), in São Carlos. The training contributed to the development of computer simulation skills for complex problems and marked the beginning of his career as a researcher.
The 2026 edition was not the first in which the Ceará native achieved recognition in the competition. In 2019, while still in high school, he received a bronze medal. In 2025, he received an honorable mention. This year, he achieved his best result, with the gold medal and third place in the university category.
The Physics Cup 2026 started on October 19, 2025. Throughout the competition, participants had to solve five problems, published at intervals of approximately 1 to 2 months. The deadline for submitting solutions to the last problem was May 3, 2026. The final result was released on October 22.
The score takes into account both the speed and quality of the solutions. The first ten participants to solve each problem receive extra points, and those who have their answers selected among the best also earn an additional point.
Vinícius managed to solve all the problems in the 2026 edition and even had his solution for the fourth problem chosen among the best in the competition. For him, the result represents a milestone in his career.
"The problems are so difficult that, even with weeks of individual study and research, most participants are unable to solve any problem. At the end, the points are added up and the ranking is separated between pre-university and university students, in which one or two of the highest scores receive a platinum medal, followed by gold medals, then silver, bronze and honorable mention", he explains.
The Ceará native says that, in recent years, he has not always been able to dedicate himself as much as he would like to the competition, due to academic commitments. However, in 2026, he decided to intensify his preparation and considered that it could be one of his last participations, as the competition is aimed at high school and university students, including master's students.
The routine required reconciling the challenges of the Olympiad with classes, projects, meetings, seminars and research activities. "Every time a problem was published, I anxiously awaited the publication time and then spent hours trying to solve it and, depending on the difficulty of the problem, days thinking, trying, deleting and trying again", he says.
The fourth problem was the most challenging, according to him, as it brought together different fields of Physics, such as Lagrangian mechanics, hydrodynamics, electrostatics and differential equations. “It required a lot of research, patience and time to resolve and synthesize all the ideas”, he explains.
The result at the Physics Cup represents another stage in a trajectory that must continue to be linked to scientific research. Vinícius intends to complete his master's degree and, later, begin his doctorate in Physics.
In the future, he is also considering working for a large technology company and founding his own business in the area of scientific and technological solutions. Despite this, he does not rule out pursuing an academic career as a researcher and teacher.
The Ceará native advises other students to remain curious, persist in the face of difficulties and be willing to learn from their own mistakes.
"The Olympics open doors that sometimes we don't even dream we can open or we don't even know they exist and are available to us. In addition to all this, be patient with yourself, learning takes time and a lot of trial and error. Success in the Olympics doesn't just come when you win a medal, it comes when you challenge yourself and learn, this changes you for the better, much more than a medal hanging on the wall", he advised.
For him, encouraging participation in scientific competitions also needs to come from teachers, managers and those responsible for public education policies. The researcher advocates that more Brazilian students have access to preparation and development opportunities.
