2008 Colorado Mathematics Awards
ARML | Contest in Modeling | Putnam Competition
Download the award ceremony program.
Fifty-five outstanding mathematics students and 30 teachers from junior and senior high schools and colleges and universities in Colorado were recognized at the 13th annual Colorado Mathematics Awards reception on Tuesday, May 13th, at the Grant-Humphreys Mansion in Denver.
Those invited to attend were students—and their parents and teachers—from across the state who had performed well on one or more national or international competitions in mathematics during the 2007-08 school year. More than 140 people attended the gala event.
The ceremony also recognized Prof. Steve Janke, Department of Mathematics, Colorado College as an outstanding educator. He received the 2008 Burton W. Jones Distinguished Teaching Award, presented by Prof. Mike Brilleslyper, Department of Mathematics, U.S. Air Force Academy, and Chair, Rocky Mountain Section, Mathematical Association of America. Opening remarks were presented by Ms. Paige Lee, President, Professional Engineers of Colorado.
Financial contributors were American Mathematics Competitions, CH2M Hill, Colorado Council of Teachers of Mathematics, the Mathematical Association of America, Rocky Mountain Section, and the Professional Engineers of Colorado. The Jewelry Works of Durango engraved the plaques and medals. Mr. Craig Bannister and Ms. Ann Deforest-Stalls from the Governor’s Office arranged for signed certificates and letters of congratulation from Governor Bill Ritter and a brief meeting with students.
American Mathematics Contest 8
The AMC 8 is a 40-minute 25-question multiple choice contest given in school on the Tuesday the week before Thanksgiving. Students in 8th grade and below are eligible. In 2007, 150,000 students from 2,300 schools nationwide participated in the AMC 8. In Colorado, 1,400 Colorado students from 26 schools participated.
Top Colorado Individual Winners (and Coaches)
| (1) Tae Kim | Campus MS | Greenwood Vill | (Sandra Evans) |
| (2) Rachel Hoffman | Challenge School | Denver | (Rich Morrow) |
| (3) Alexander Black | Summit MS | Boulder | (Ingrid Fotino) |
Honorable Mention (and Coaches)
| Ryan Carson | Altona MS | Longmont | (Chitra Seshan) |
| Cooper Leith | Campus MS | Greenwood Vill | (Sandra Evans) |
| Nikola Maksimovic | Summit MS | Boulder | (Ingrid Fotino) |
| Benjamin Myers | Campus MS | Greenwood Vill | (Sandra Evans) |
| Owen Nugent | Mountain Ridge MS | Colo Springs | (Christine Draper) |
| Rudy Parks | Craver MS | Colo City | (Michael Parks) |
| Kelsey Piper | Summit MS | Boulder | (Ingrid Fotino) |
| Albert Soh | Summit MS | Boulder | (Ingrid Fotino) |
| Bruce Zheng | Challenge School | Denver | (Rich Morrow) |
| Daniel Zheng | Challenge School | Denver | (Rich Morrow) |
Tae Kim scored a perfect paper. Benjamin Myers and Albert Soh were the top students in grade six or below who took the AMC 8 exam.
MATHCOUNTS
MATHCOUNTS is an after school program for 6th, 7th, and 8th graders which leads to a series of competitions at the school, chapter, state, and national levels. The top four students at the state competition represent their state at the national competition. A MATHCOUNTS competition lasts approximately 3 hours and consists of 4 rounds involving a combination of individual and team, written and oral problem solving activities. Nearly 40,000 students from 5,900 schools participated in competitions across the country in 2007-2008, including more than 1,000 students from 146 Colorado schools. The national MATHCOUNTS competition was held in Denver this year, May 8-10, 2008.
First Place Colorado Team
Alexander Black, Will Conway, Nikola Maksimovic, and Albert Soh, , Summit MS, Boulder (Tom Seibel, Silva Chang).
Top Colorado Individual Winners (and Coaches)
| (1) Kevin Xie | Cresthill MS | Highlands Ranch | (Kevin Larsen) |
| (2) Alexander Black | Summit MS | Boulder | (Tom Seibel, Silva Chang) |
| (3) Nicolas Ledru | Southern Hills MS | Boulder | (Denise Pearman-Johnson) |
| (4) Tae Kim | Campus MS | Greenwood Vill | (Sandra Evans) |
Honorable Mention (and Coaches)
| Ryan Carson | Altona MS | Longmont | (Chitra Seshan) |
| Cissy Chen | Eldorado K-8 School | Superior | (Pam Brenner) |
| Stefan Grampp | Rocky Mountain School | Boulder | (Mark Ambrust) |
| Albert Soh | Summit MS | Boulder | (Ingrid Fotino) |
| Sawyer Vaughan | Stargate School | Thornton | (Tim Stafford) |
| Bruce Zheng | Challenge School | Denver | (Rich Morrow) |
American Mathematics Contest 10
The AMC 10 and AMC 12 are two 75-minute 25-question multiple choice test with approximately 12 common problems between them. Students in grades 10 and below are eligible for the AMC 10; students in grades 12 and below are eligible for the AMC 12. The contests are given in two versions in February, 15 days apart. In 2008 national participation rates were 104,000 students from 2,500 schools, and 121,000 students from 4,000 schools, in AMC 10 and 12, respectively. Colorado’s participation: 951 students from 46 schools (AMC 10) and 1,163 students from 50 schools (AMC 12).
Top Colorado Individual Winners (and Coaches)
| (1) Ben Alpert | Fairview HS | Boulder | (Del Ebadi) |
| (2) Charles Xu | Fairview HS | Boulder | (Del Ebadi) |
| (3) Shuli Song | Classical Academy | Colo Springs | (John Knuth) |
Honorable Mention (and Coaches)
| Alexander Black | Summit MS | Boulder | (Ingrid Fotino) |
| Chris Guthrie | Fairview HS | Boulder | (Del Ebadi) |
| Tae Kim | Campus MS | Greenwood Vill | (Sandra Evans) |
| Margaret Koehler | Lewis-Palmer HS | Monument | (Kathleen Thirkell) |
| Connie Liu | Cherry Creek HS | Greenwood Vill | (Michael Berndt) |
| Scott McClary | Fort Morgan HS | Fort Morgan | (Kevin Rhode) |
| Thomas Scheevel | Fruita Monument HS | Fruita | (Suellyn Chronister) |
Tae Kim was the top student in grade eight or below who took the AMC 10 exam.
American Mathematics Contest 12
First Place Colorado Team (and Coach)
Marshall Carpenter, Thomas Davids, Vicky Li, Fairview High School, Boulder (Del Ebadi).
Top Colorado Individual Winners (and Coaches)
| (1) Sam Elder | Poudre HS | Fort Collins | (Jeff Davis) |
| (2) Charlie Stoddard | Steamboat Springs HS | Steamboat Spr | (Lisa Ruff) |
| (3) Marshall Carpenter | Fairview HS | Boulder | (Del Ebadi) |
Honorable Mention (and Coaches)
| Ryan Beethe | Poudre HS | Fort Collins | (Jeff Davis) |
| Thomas Davids | Fairview HS | Boulder | (Del Ebadi) |
| Vicky Li | Fairview HS | Boulder | (Del Ebadi) |
| Victor Li | Fairview HS | Boulder | (Del Ebadi) |
| Michael Morton | Rangely HS | Rangely | (Travis Porter) |
| Leonid Ovanesyan | Smoky Hill HS | Aurora | (Dennis Gournic) |
| Jirui Qin | Fairview HS | Boulder | (Del Ebadi) |
| Norris Xu | Fairview HS | Boulder | (Del Ebadi) |
| Mutian Yao | Fairview HS | Boulder | (Del Ebadi) |
Sam Elder scored a perfect paper (one of 25 perfect scores nationally). Ryan Beethe was the top student in grade 10 or below who took the AMC 12. exam.
American Invitational
Mathematics Examination
The American Invitational Mathematics Examination is a 3-hour 15-question examination with each answer a 3-digit number. Administered in school 6 weeks after the AMC 10 and 12 exams to students achieving Honor Roll status on the AMC 10 or 12 exams. In 2008, approximately 8,500 students nationwide took the AIME, including 52 students from Colorado. Sam Elder scored a perfect paper (1 out of eight perfect scores nationally)!
USA Mathematical Olympiad
The USA Math Olympiad is a 9-hour 6-question essay examination given to the top 500 students participating in the AMC 10 and 12 exams and the AIME. The top 6 USAMO students comprise the team that represents the USA at the International Mathematical Olympiad held in July. This year’s IMO will be held in Madrid, Spain.
Six students from Colorado qualified to write the 2008 USAMO on April 24-25. Sam Elder was named one of the top twelve USAMO winners. He and Charles Xu have been invited to attend the Mathematical Olympiad Summer Program (MOSP) for the top fifty math students in the country.
Qualifying Students for the USAMO (and Coaches)
| Ben Alpert | Fairview HS | Boulder | (Del Ebadi) |
| Thomas Davids | Fairview HS | Boulder | (Del Ebadi) |
| Sam Elder | Poudre HS | Fort Collins | (Jeff Davis) |
| Chris Guthrie | Fairview HS | Boulder | (Del Ebadi) |
| Charlie Stoddard | Steamboat Springs HS | Steamboat Spr | (Lisa Ruff) |
| Charles Xu | Fairview HS | Boulder | (Del Ebadi) |
American Regions Mathematics League
In 2007, 1770 students from six countries and 34 states formed 118 fifteen-member teams to compete at the national ARML competition. The Colorado team won fourth place in the Western Division. Team member Sam Elder won ninth place among all ARML participants. Coaches: Silva Chang and Bradley Alpert.
Colorado ARML Team
| Marshall Carpenter | Fairview HS | Boulder | |
| Hunter Chase | Alexander Dawson School | Lafayette | |
| Eric Conner | D'Evelyn Jr/Sr HS | Denver | |
| Thomas Davids | Fairview HS | Boulder | |
| Sam Elder | Poudre HS | Fort Collins | |
| Samuel Galler | Boulder HS | Boulder | |
| Vicky Li | Fairview HS | Boulder | |
| Michael Morton | Rangely HS | Rangely | |
| Charlie Stoddard | Steamboat Springs HS | Steamboat Springs | |
| Amber Verser | Thompson Valley HS | Loveland | |
| Norris Xu | Fairview HS | Boulder |
Mathematical Contest in Modeling
The Mathematical Contest in Modeling is a team contest for undergraduates. The Mathematical Association of America is one of the sponsoring organizations. A team of three students works in mid-February from midnight on a Thursday until 5 p.m. the following Monday, using applied mathematics to solve their choice of one of three real-world problems. In 2008, solutions were submitted by 1,162 teams, including 276 teams from the U.S. There were nine outstanding teams and 161 Meritorious teams in all. In Colorado, six teams from two colleges and universities participated.
Top Colorado Teams (and Coaches)
Meritorious Ranking
Ryan Schilt, Jonathan Olson, Joseph Adams, University of Colorado–Boulder (Prof. Anne Dougherty)
Christopher-Ian Davis, Christopher Dodson, Ramsey Majzoub, University of Colorado–Boulder (Prof. Luis Melara)
William Lowell Putnam
Mathematical Competition
The William Lowell Putnam Mathematical Competition is a collegiate examination sponsored by the Mathematical Association of America. It is a 6-hour 12-question essay examination given on campus on the first Saturday in December. All undergraduates are eligible. In 2007 more than 3,700 students from 516 institutions participated nationwide. Students from 10 Colorado colleges and universities participated.
Top Colorado Individual Winners (and Coaches)
| (1) Andrew Scacco | University of Colorado | Boulder | (Profs. Keith Kearnes and Alexander Gorokhovsky) |
| (2) Lung Li | Colorado College | Colo Springs | (Prof. Mike Siddoway) |
| (3) Andrew Jewett | University of Colorado | Boulder | (Profs. Keith Kearnes and Alexander Gorokhovsky) |
| (3) Ben Joeris | Colorado State University | Fort Collins | (Prof. Justin Sawon) |
| (3) Stephen Lewis | University of Colorado | Boulder | (Profs. Keith Kearnes and Alexander Gorokhovsky) |
| (3) Rachel Miller | Colorado School of Mines | Golden | (Prof. David Larue) |