A word about some fall events. Mathematics is many things to many people, but to some it is actually a competitive sport. Here at Hopkins, we have two upcoming competitions that we register teams for and participate in:
- The Virginia Tech Regional Mathematics Contest, and
- The William Lowell Putnam Mathematical Competition.
Both are distributed exam competitions, which means they are offered locally at a university who has students registered to take the exam. Both offer undergraduate-level mathematics problems that require cleverness to solve well, and both offer cash prizes as well as the prestige of doing well in the competition. In fact, doing well on the Putnam is an accomplishment that should be placed prominantly on a resume or curriculum vitae (an academic resume, so to speak). And the Math Department offers a cash prize to the best performer from JHU. Last year, our two top Putnam performers ranked at 140th and 154th out of some 3640 participants.
Registration for the VTech competition is basically a matter for the Math Dept. here, and we will be registered. The exam is on Saturday, October 27, from 9am-11:30am.
Registration for the 68th national Putnam exam closes sometime around October 12, and the exam is held on Saturday, December 1, from 10am-1pm and 3pm-6pm.
If you are interested in either of these competitions (and as a math major, I highly recommend that you consider these exams part of your training as a mathematician), please come in to talk to me. The Department also offers training sessions, organized with the Math Club here at Hopkins, which are weekly seminars. But more on that later....
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