Participating in the math competition from Southeastern were Caleb Luna, Joash Patton, and James Dry.
Three students from Southeastern Oklahoma State University competed in the 83rd annual William Lowell Putnam Mathematical Competition on Saturday.
Representing SE were Caleb Luna, a computer science and mathematics major from Valliant; Joash Patton, a mathematics major from Calera; and James Dry, a mathematics major from Calera.
The Putnam Mathematical Competition is the preeminent event of its kind for undergraduate college students in the United States and Canada. The competition is divided into two three-hour sessions, with participants working on six challenging mathematical problems over the course of each session. Each problem is worth 10 points, for a maximum score of 120 points.
Each fall, Southeastern mathematics professor Dr. Karl Frinkle leads interested students through problems from past competitions, along with other similarly challenging problems. Students are exposed to new concepts, clever tricks, interesting formulas, problem-solving techniques, along with various topics not normally covered in the standard curriculum.
The Putnam began in 1938 as a competition between mathematics departments at colleges and universities. The competition has now grown to be the leading university-level mathematics examination in the world. Although participants work independently on the problems, there is a team aspect to the competition as well. Prizes are awarded to the participants with the highest scores and to the departments of mathematics of the five institutions, the sum of whose top three scores is the greatest.
Results from this year’s competition will not be available until February.
