UH Hilo student mathematicians compete in prestigious exam
A team of student mathematicians at UH Hilo recently participated in The William Lowell Putnam Mathematical Competition, the most prestigious university-level mathematics examination in the world.
Earlier this month, a team of student mathematicians at the University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo participated in The William Lowell Putnam Mathematical Competition—often called the Putnam Competition—an annual event for undergraduates at universities and colleges in the United States and Canada. The top students and top schools receive significant cash prizes. The competition is considered the most prestigious university-level mathematics examination in the world.
The annual Putnam Competition, taken place since 1938, is always held on the first Saturday in December. The test is supervised by faculty members at the participating schools. Each competitor attempts to solve twelve problems—in two three-hour sessions—which can typically be solved with only basic knowledge of college mathematics but which require extensive creative thinking.
“While each students works individually, three scores are combined to be UH Hilo’s team score,” says Brian Wissman, chair and associate professor of mathematics at UH Hilo, who mentors the team. “There’s prize money for the top five schools and top six individual scores.”
This year’s UH Hilo participants:
- Scott Ashida (Senior, Math–Economics).
- Carli Hand (Junior, Math).
- Stuart Kaneshiro (Junior, Computer Science).
- Taylor Kinsey (Senior, Math).
- Rebekah Loving (Freshman, Math).
- Adan Rodrigues (Senior, Math).
- Reuben Tate (Senior, Math-Computer Science).
“We won’t have this year’s results until late March or early April,” Wissman explains. “Last year there were about 3,600 total participants. We had two students place above the 50 percentile, and one placing in the top 400 students, 90th percentile.”
Each fall, Wissman and Efren Ruiz, associate professor of mathematics, schedule weekly, one-hour practice problem solving sessions with the participants. This is the fifth year UH Hilo has had a Putnam team entering the competition.
About the writer of this story: Susan Enright is a public information specialist for the Office of the Chancellor and editor of UH Hilo Stories. She received her bachelor of arts in English and certificate in women’s studies from UH Hilo.
