Students achieve high results in Putnam Mathematical Competition
Friday, April 3, 2015
MANHATTAN — Eight Kansas State University students have placed highly in an international mathematics competition.
The Mathematical Association of America has released results from the 75th annual Putnam Mathematical Competition, the most prestigious mathematics contest for undergraduates at colleges and universities in Canada and the United States.
The Kansas State University team finished in the top 20 percent of the 577 colleges and universities and 4,320 students that participated in the competition. The university team also had one member who placed in the top 22 percent in the competition: Fernando Roman, December 2014 bachelor's graduate in mathematics, Toa Alta, Puerto Rico.
Also members of the Kansas State University team were the following students:
Melissa Coats, senior in computer engineering and mathematics, Allen, top 30 percent; Chelsea Dickerson, senior in mathematics, Leawood, top 49 percent; Nicholas Donohoue, senior in mathematics, top 49 percent, and Aaron Messerla, senior in mathematics, top 38 percent, both from Manhattan; Max Goering, senior in mathematics, McPherson, top 30 percent; and John Willnauer, senior in mechanical engineering and mathematics, Stilwell, top 49 percent.
From out of country: Zhengye Si, senior in mathematics, China, top 49 percent.
Coaches for the university's Putnam competition team include mathematics department faculty members David Auckly, Ivan Blank, Todd Cochrane, Roman Fedorov, Zongzhu Lin, Tom Muenzenberger, Gabriel Nagy, Virginia Naibo, Christopher Pinner, Pietro Poggi-Corradini, Craig Spencer, Victor Turchin, Dan Volok and Ilia Zharkov.
