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St. Olaf team finishes first at math competition

By Apoorva Pasricha '14
December 12, 2011

The St. Olaf team of (from left) Boyang Wei '13, Huong Vu '12, and Ling Gu '12, with the guidance of Assistant Professor of Mathematics Adam Berliner (right) earned a perfect score at the Mathematical Association of America North Central Section competition.

A perfect score propelled a team of St. Olaf students to victory at the 15th annual Mathematical Association of America North Central Section competition.

Huong Vu '12, Ling Gu '12, and Boyang Wei '13 earned a first-place finish at the event, which featured 76 teams from 26 colleges and universities. Participants are asked to solve 10 problems in three hours using advanced probability, algebra, and calculus.

"Our team strategy was to first have everyone work individually on problems they thought they could solve, and then work on the harder problems together," Wei says.

Five St. Olaf teams, guided by Assistant Professor of Mathematics Adam Berliner, competed in the event. Four of those teams placed in the top 25 — including the team of Vladimir Sotirov '12, Joshua Wilson '13, and Warren Shull '13, which placed seventh — and all five teams finished among the top 50 percent of competitors.

Contact Kari VanDerVeen at 507-786-3970 or vanderve@stolaf.edu.