CUNY Math Contest Begins
Published: Sunday, February 28, 2010
Math-minded Queens College students can win cash prizes up to $2,500 starting on Monday, Feb. 15, in this year’s CUNY Math Challenge.
Last year, three of the 30 finalists were QC students, according Yitzchak Lockerman, a QC junior who participated in last year’s competition.
“It’s a fun contest. The math problems are challenging and require thought,” Lockerman, a computer science major, said. “There’s no textbook solution, so it’s a chance to think outside the box.”
The competition is open to all CUNY undergraduate students and offers over a dozen cash prizes of up to $2,500 dollars, according to the CUNY Math Challenge website.
The first two-week round began on Feb. 15, when students who registered for the competition online found five math problems on the website. The first four rounds will each feature five problems to be solved in two weeks.
To qualify for the fifth round, students must participate no later than the second round, which will begin the week of March 1.
The 30 participants with the highest scores in the first four rounds will be invited to the fifth and final round, an in-person exam on Sunday, April 25.
Answers can be submitted online, via the U.S. Postal Service or in person. A committee of math and computer science faculty from across CUNY will be responsible for the grading on a 100-point scale, with each of the 20 questions being worth five points, according to the rules.
Lockerman noted that because of bureaucratic red tape, the advertising money for this year’s contest was tied up and word about the contest didn’t spread.
Though, some QC students found out about it regardless.
“I got an email, and I thought it could be fun,” said QC junior Ethan Soskel, a math major. “I’m probably not going to win it, I just really wanted to see the questions.”
The Academic Leadership Award, received by CUNY Chancellor Matthew Goldstein from the Carnegie Corporation of New York, funds the money for the prizes. The contest winners will be publicly recognized at a ceremony with the chancellor.
Lockerman, who is looking forward to the competition, said he’s not in it just for the money.
“I basically had a lot of fun with it last year and want other people to experience that too,” Lockerman said.
The math challenge, now in its second year, is sponsored by the CUNY Office of Academic Affairs and the CUNY Institute for Software Design and Development (CISDD).
Students can register at http://math.cisdd.org/.
){kind=link}