New England Diary

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Math winners at MIT

The Stata Center at MIT, whose campus is in Cambridge, Mass., and very close to Harvard.

This is from the New England Council (newenglandcouncil.com):

"Students at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), a New England Council member, dominated the 78th Annual William Lowell Putnam Mathematical Competition, taking 17 of the top 25 spots in a field of 4,638 test-takers from 575 institutions last December.  MIT can now claim the highest rank for four out of the past five years.

"The Putnam is one of the most prestigious mathematical competitions in the U.S. and Canada, with competitors attempting to solve 12 brutally challenging problems in six hours. The highest exam score was 89 out of a possible 120 points, with only 20 percent of participants earning a score above 13. Of the five top scorers who are named Putnam Fellows, four are from MIT with a total of 38 out of the 99 top scorers being MIT undergraduates.

“'I am delighted that MIT undergraduates have again won first place in the 2017 Putnam Competition. . .This stunning performance reflects the extraordinary talent of our students and the superb coaching that they receive here. Kudos to all participants and to the Department of Mathematics,' said Michael Sipser, the Donner Professor of Mathematics and Dean of Science at MIT.  The school with the first-place team receives an award of $25,000 with each first-place team member receiving $1,000. Putnam Fellows receive an award of $2,500.