Who Is Agastya Goel? Indian-Origin Teen Makes History At US Physics Olympiad, Meets Trump

The United States Physics Team achieved an unprecedented victory at the 2025 International Physics Olympiad (IPhO) held in Paris, winning all five gold medals. The team, Agastya Goel, Allen Li, Joshua Wang, Feodor Yevtushenko, and Brian Zhang, delivered the best performance in the country’s history at the prestigious competition.

Following their victory, the young champions were invited to the White House, where US President Donald Trump personally congratulated them. Michael Kratsios, a senior aide to Trump, shared the moment on X: "Today POTUS & WHOSTP47 were proud to welcome the 2025 World Champion USA Physics Team to the White House! These incredible geniuses DOMINATED at the International Physics Olympiad in July, bringing home a record FIVE gold medals, the greatest performance in team history."

Who is Agastya Goel?

At just 17, Agastya Goel, a junior at Henry M. Gunn High School in Palo Alto, California, is already a name to watch. The Indian-origin prodigy is the son of Stanford professor Ashish Goel, a former IIT-JEE topper.

Agastya’s academic accolades are extraordinary:

-Two-time International Olympiad in Informatics (IOI) gold medalist

-Ranked 4th globally in IOI 2024

-Three-time USACO finalist (2022–2024)

-Silver medalist at the 2023 USA Physics Olympiad

-Participant in the elite Mathematical Olympiad Program

-Contributor to PRIMES-USA and multiple-time Honour Choir member

-Co-author of a mathematics paper published in The Australasian Journal of Combinatorics

Early Interest and Passion for Physics

Agastya’s fascination with science began during hikes and car rides with his father. Initially drawn to computer science, he shifted his focus to physics in winter 2023, spending weeks studying Kevin Zhou’s physics handouts, even during a family trip to India in front of the Taj Mahal.

Life Beyond Academics

Despite his intense academic schedule, Agastya maintains a vibrant personal life. According to his LinkedIn profile, he enjoys:

-Tennis, hiking, and frisbee

-Playing guitar and piano, singing, and participating in the school choir

-Varsity tennis, competitive programming, and board game clubs

-Listening to podcasts on science, economics, and global affairs

Father’s Journey: From IIT Kanpur to Stanford

Agastya comes from a family of academics. His father, Ashish Goel, hails from Uttar Pradesh, studied computer science at IIT Kanpur, and earned his PhD at Stanford. A professor of Management Science and Engineering, Ashish has contributed to algorithmic game theory, computational social science, and computer networks, and even played a key role in Twitter’s early monetisation model.