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The winners have been announced for the spring semester Barge Mathematics Competition.
Teams of three to five students tried to solve one mathematics problem each week for eight weeks. The problems were selected by Ethan Berkove and Derek Smith, both assistant professors of mathematics.
First place and a $600 prize went to the team of Dan Swarr ’02, a mathematics and physics double major from Clifton Park, N.Y.; Feiyu Wang ’01, a dual degree student in electrical engineering and economics and business from Shanghai, China; and Guangxi Wang ’03, an electrical and computer engineering major from Shanghai, China. The team finished second in the fall semester competition.
Second place and a $450 prize were won by Farah Arabe ’04, an engineering major from Lima, Peru; Alex Balan ’03, a computer science major from Bucharest, Romania; and Devin Wallace ’02, a computer science major from Ridgefield, Conn. Balan was a member of the team that won the fall semester competition.
Third place and a $300 prize are awarded to Ajay Hirani ’04, a mathematics major from Maharashtra, India; Myat Lin ’04, an electrical and computer engineering major from Yangon, Myanmar; and Pujitha Weerakoon ’04, an electrical and computer engineering major from Kandy, Sri Lanka.
“There were seven teams that participated weekly throughout the semester, and it was a close contest this semester for third place,” says Berkove.
The competitiors can consult with books, computers and other resources to solve the problems, but not faculty. The problems usually involve some ingenuity or insight and generally do not rely on much background information from previous courses. The topics range over all areas of mathematics: probability, geometry, number theory, combinatorics, algebra, calculus, etc.
A 1903 donation of $2,500 from Benjamin F. Barge funds the competition as well as the Benjamin F. Barge Mathematical Prize for a first-year student or sophomore.