U of I Math Contests Webpage
www.math.uiuc.edu/contests.html
Fall 2008 Schedule
-
Mathematical Contests at Illinois (pdf file).
Slides from a presentation given on Sept. 15, 2008, on the Putnam Exam
and similar mathematical contests, training sessions, practice
contests, and related activities offered at Illinois.
- Monday, Sept. 29, 2008, 5 pm - 7 pm, 245 Altgeld Hall:
Mock Putnam Exam. A practice contest for the Putnam. Similar in
format and content to the Putnam, but shorter (2 hours instead of 6).
This contest serves, in part, to identify candidates for the U of I
Putnam Team. Preregistration is not required; just show up!
[10/2/08] Results are in!
The winner, and recipient of
the $300 prize, was Justin Kopinsky, a first year student in
Math/CS. See the above link for more information.
- Mondays/Tuesdays, Sept. 22 - Dec. 2, 2008, 5 pm - 6 pm,
143 Altgeld Hall: Putnam Training sessions.
The sessions are very informal and largely independent of each other.
No registration required - just show up! This year
we offer two levels of training:
- Basic level (Mondays, Prof. Jeremy Rouse):
No background or experience required.
- Advanced level (Tuesdays, Prof. Sujith Vijay):
Suitable for those with prior contest experience, or appropriate mathematical
background (e.g., courses in combinatorics and/or number theory).
Note: On Sept. 29,
the Mock Putnam Exam will preempt the training sessions.
- Saturday, Dec. 6, 2008, 9 am - 12 pm, and 2 pm - 5 pm,
245 Altgeld Hall: Putnam Exam.
The real thing. The "Putnam", which has been called
the "world's toughest math test", is a nationwide math problems contest
for undergraduates. Preregistration is required by early October.
Signup for the Putnam will be possible at the Mock Putnam Exam, in the
training sessions, and through
the Putnam Newsletter.
News and Announcements
[To receive news and announcements about contest activities at the U of
I, sign up for the Putnam Newsletter.]
- [10/2/08]
Results of the 2008
U of I Mock Putnam Exam.
The 2008 U of I Mock Putnam, a practice contest and trial run for the
Putnam Exam, took place on Sept. 29, 2008. The winner, and recipient of
the $300 first prize, was Justin Kopinsky, a first year student in
Math/CS. See the above link for more information and additional results.
Contest problems and
solutions are available at the following links:
- [3/15/08] Putnam Results.
The 2007 Putnam Results are in! The top local contestant was
David Grayson, who placed 135th among the 3700+ participants from the
U.S. and Canada, the highest ranking by a local participant since 2002.
For additional local results, and more information, click on the above
link.
- [3/9/08]
Results of the 2008
U of I Undergraduate Math Contest.
The 2008 edition of the U of I Undergraduate Math Contest
was won in dominating fashion by
Alex Zhai, a student at University High School. Wanrong Zhang,
a Junior in Math and CS took second place;
Michael Nasti, a Junior in Math and Tiance Wang, a Junior in ECE,
tied for third place. See the above link for more information, including
contest problems and solutions.
- [12/3/07] Putnam wrapup:
The 2007 Putnam Mathematical Contest was held on Saturday, December 1.
19 UIUC students participated in this contest, the highest number in the
past twenty years. Results will be available in March 2008.
Problems and unofficial solutions can be found at the
AMC Putnam Archive.
Thanks to everyone who participated, good luck on your finals, and happy
holidays!
The William Lowell Putnam Competition
The William
Lowell Putnam Competition is an
annual student math competition sponsored by the
Mathematical Association
of America. More than 2000 students
from colleges and universities in the United States and Canada
participate in this contest each year.
The Putnam competition is held simultaneously at participating universities,
usually on the first Saturday of December.
The Putnam competition consists of a morning session and an afternoon
session of three hours each. In each session, six problems are
to be solved. The problems are graded on a 0 - 10 point scale, for a
maximal score of 120 points.
The problems are
challenging and require considerable ingenuity and insight,
but little technical knowledge
beyond high school mathematics. It is extremely rare that a contestant
solves all 12 problems. For example,
in the 1996 Putnam competition, the highest score was
98 points, and a score of 10 (the equivalent
of a single problem solved correctly)
would have placed a contestant among the top third of all
2400 participants!
The highest ranking participants from the UIUC in recent years have
earned scores in the 40 - 60 point range and
ranked in the top 100.
The Putnam competition is open to all
full time undergraduate students; for details on how to enter click on
the link below.
In addition to the individual competition, there is also a team
competition among participating colleges. The team rank of a college
is determined by the scores of three participants from that college
who have to be named in advance.
The team members will, of course, still be ranked as individual
contestants. The 25 highest scoring individuals and the five
highest scoring teams receive
monetary awards. The UIUC team has not made
it into the money ranks in recent history,
but there is always time for a first! (The highest rank for the UIUC
team in the past 20 years was 8th.)
This is a locally organized problems contest, held in the latter part of
the Spring semester. It is similar in format and content
to the Putnam competition, but the problems are easier.
Until 1994, the contest was split into two
separate contests, an "Orange Contest" for students in calculus,
and a "Blue Contest" for students who had completed the
calculus sequence. Since 1995, the two contests have been
consolidated into a single contest, called the U of I Undergraduate Math
Contest.
The highest ranking individuals in this contest
receive prizes (including a top prize of $250)
and are recognized at a special awards ceremony.
The U of I Putnam Newsletter is an
email newsletter containing announcements about
the Putnam competition and other
contest-related activities at the U of
I, and a "Problem of the Week." The mailing list for the
newsletter is maintained by Professor Hildebrand;
send email to ajh@uiuc.edu to be put on this mailing list.
Note: This is a local newsletter, with announcements of
local events and activities that would be of little interest
to those not at the U of I. To keep the mailing list manageable, it is
restricted to U of I students and faculty.
Click on the above link for the UIUC "Problem of the Week".
Last modified: Thu 02 Oct 2008 09:51:59 AM CDT
A.J. Hildebrand