Five UWinnipeg students took part in the very prestigious William Lowell Putnam Mathematics Competition and did favourably in this very difficult math competition. Tim Pressey (4th yr, Honours BSc Math) did exceptionally well, ranking 266th among the very best math students in North America. This is Pressey’s second year making the “top 500” list. This distinguished list is sent to math departments world-wide. Through the years, the Putnam has proved a formative experience for many internationally-known Mathematics researchers.
UWinnipeg’s Yifeng Zhang (4th yr, Honours BSc ACS) also acquitted himself very well, missing the top 500 by only one point. The scores of all UWinnipeg students are also used to form a team ranking. UWinnipeg’s team of Adam Borchert (3rd yr, Honours BSc Math); Serina Camungol (3rd yr, Honours BSc Math); Phil Lafrance (3rd yr, Honours BSc Math); Tim Pressey and Yifeng Zhang placed 62nd. This compares favourably with many larger universities in Canada and the USA.
Students compete as individuals by writing two 3 hour exams, each consisting of 6 very difficult math problems. A total of 4113 students from 557 colleges and universities across North America competed and this year’s contest was especially difficult. More than half of the contestants were unable to solve any of the 12 problems, but all five of our competitors scored above average.
UWinnipeg’s Putnam team has been coached by Dr. Terry Visentin, Co-Chair of the department of Mathematics & Statistics and one of a number of UWinnipeg professors who are Putnam alums. Visentin conducts weekly problem solving seminars to prepare the students for the contest.
“I’m very proud of how our students performed this year,” said Visentin. “All the very best universities in North America enter this competition, so to score this highly is a great credit to the hard work of these students and to the preparation they’ve received by the many fine instructors in our department.”
Currently Pressey is attending the Budapest Semesters in Math program (BSM); his invitation was partly based on his performance in the Putnam contest. BSM (https://www.budapestsemesters.com/) is viewed as one of the most prestigious and essential study-abroad programs for undergraduate students of Mathematics.
