Math's Brightest Compete for Honors at OSU
Friday, November 14, 2008
More than 200 high school students from throughout the state of Oklahoma competed
in an annual high school math contest sponsored by the Department of Mathematics at
Oklahoma State University.
By Cori Urrutia
(Nov. 13, 2008, STILLWATER, Okla.) – More than 200 high school students from throughout the state of Oklahoma recently competed in an annual high school math contest sponsored by the Department of Mathematics at Oklahoma State University.
Judges announced today that three students from the Oklahoma School of Science and Mathematics in Oklahoma City nabbed top honors. Irving Dai took first place with a perfect score while Peter Luo and Amy Tai both tied for second place. Yichen Wu of Norman High School placed third.
In school team results, Norman High School placed first; The Oakridge School, Arlington, Texas, second; and Westmoore High School third.
“The goal of the contest is to prepare students to work on difficult math problems,” said Dale Alspach, head of the mathematics department. “The first part of the test is similar to class work while part two is more difficult and the students have to justify their solutions.”
A recent study showed that even the most talented math students are being discouraged from advancing in the field because of cultural attitudes in the United States, according to a report published in the Notices of the American Mathematical Society.
Alspach and his team hope their annual contest encourages the state’s young people to pursue math. That’s why OSU awarded the top-scoring seniors scholarships ranging from $500 to $1,500 if they enroll at OSU.
Contest supervisor Anantharam Raghuram, assistant professor of mathematics at OSU, created the exam. His effort to help kids sharpen their math skills has meant fine-tuning the test each year.
“Within the last two years we changed the exam from strictly proof questions to make it a little less frustrating and more encouraging for the students,” Raghuram said.
Other high schools represented were Crescent, Earlsboro, Haskell, Norman North, Porter, Southwest Covenant, Stillwater and Yale. Oklahoma School of Science and Mathematics Regional Centers were represented by students from Ardmore, Enid, Muskogee and Tahlequah.
The contest started in 1993 and is funded by OSU and an endowment from Stuart and Jennie Reeves. Both OSU alumni, Stuart earned a bachelor’s degree in math in 1961, and Jennie earned a bachelor’s in elementary education in 1962.
To learn about the 2009 competition, phone (405) 744-5688 or visit http://www.math.okstate.edu/hsc