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The Problem Solving Group will hold its first meeting of the year at 4:15 p.m. Thursday in Pardee Hall room 227.
Snacks will be provided at the meeting, which is open to all students.
The Problem Solving Group meets each week to discuss and solve mathematics problems. The meetings are very informal, and students are welcome to bring their own problems for discussion. The group provides excellent preparation for the Lehigh Valley Association of Independent Colleges (LVAIC) Math Contest, Individual and Team Barge competitions, and Putnam Exam.
The Team Barge competition, which involves teams of three to five members, begins this Friday with the posting of the first Problem of the Week. Participating teams attempt to solve a different Problem of the Week for eight weeks during the semester. A prize of $600 goes to the first-place team, $450 for second place, and $300 for third place.
For more information on Team Barge, contact Ethan Berkove, assistant professor of mathematics, at berkovee@lafayette.edu.
Last school year, in addition to fielding the winning student team for the third consecutive year, Lafayette swept the top three places, and four of the top five overall, in the 13th annual LVAIC Math Contest (see related story).
Lafayette also scored within the top five percent of undergraduate institutions in the nation taking the Putnam Mathematical Competition, described by Time magazine as “the world’s toughest math test” (see related story).
The Problem Solving Group is led by mathematics faculty. For more information, contact Derek Smith, assistant professor of mathematics, at smithder@lafayette.edu.