History of UI Math Contests
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The UI Undergraduate Math Contest.
Held in the spring semester of each year, the UI Undergraduate Math Contest
is the longest running local math problems competition. It originated as the
"Orange and Blue Contest", a two-tier competition consisting of an "Orange
Contest" for students in calculus, and a "Blue Contest" for students who have
completed the calculus sequence. In the mid 1990s, these contests were
consolidated into a single "UI Undergraduate Math Contest". Later a prize
purse was added, with prizes of up to $300 awarded to the top scorers.
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The UI Fall Math Contests.
In the fall of each year, two local contests are offered, the UI Mock Putnam
Exam and the UI Freshman Math Contest.
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The UI Mock Putnam Exam
is a long-running
local version of the infamous Putnam Exam, known as the
"world's toughest math test". It serves as a practice test for the Putnam Exam,
and a key tool in the selection of the UI Putnam Team. The UI Mock Putnam
Exam originated as a series of informal practice tests that could be taken in
class or as take-home tests. In 2008, it was beefed up to a formal in-class
contest, held under conditions similar to the Putnam Exam, with substantial
monetary awards awaiting the winner(s).
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The UI Freshman Math Contest,
was first offered in 2011, and is now turned into the most popular among
our local contests. Somewhat easier than the UI Mock Putnam Exam and
restricted to Freshmen, the UI Freshman Contest provides incoming students
an opportunity to show their problem solving skills in direct competition
against their peers.
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UI Math Contest Problems Archive.
Links to problems and solutions to local math contests over the past
twenty years. Over thirty contests, with a combined total of nearly two
hundred problems, are available,
UI Math Contest Winners
Click on the links below for additional information and write-ups
about recent contests, and contest problems and solutions.
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2019 Undergraduate Math Contest
- First Prize: Zihan Wang
- Second Prize: Alan Hu
- Third Prize: Kyungmo Ryu
- 2018 Mock Putnam Exam
- First Prize: Ziyi Chen
- Second Prize: Jason Xia
- Third Prize: Sam Guo, Alan Hu (tie)
- 2018 Freshman Math Contest
- First Prize: Jason Xia
- Second Prize: Albert Cao, Letian Zheng (tie)
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2018 Undergraduate Math Contest
- First Prize: Jiacheng Liu
- Second Prize: Ziyi Chen, Zhihan Xiong (tie)
- 2017 Mock Putnam Exam
- First Prize: Ziyi Chen
- Second Prize: Linda Cai
- Third Prize: Phillip Harris
- 2017 Freshman Math Contest
- First Prize: Alan Hu
- Second Prize: Guangkuo Liu
- Third Prize: Kieran Kaempen, Jiaqi Qin (tie)
- 2017 Undergraduate Math Contest
- First Prize: Yewen Fan
- Second Prize: Junghyun Hwang
- 2016 Mock Putnam Exam
- First Prize: Phillip Harris
- Second Prize: Ki Wang
- Third Prize: Thien Le
- 2016 Freshman Math Contest
- First Prize: Mark Cao
- Second Prize: Zhekun Zhang
- Third Prize: Ki Wang
- 2016 Undergraduate Math Contest
- First Prize: Yewen Fan
- Second Prize: Phillip Harris
- 2015 Mock Putnam Exam
- First Prize: Haidong Gong
- Second Prize: Zehan Chao
- Third Prize: Yewen Fan
- 2015 Freshman Math Contest
- First Prize: Yunyi Zhang
- Second Prize: Shiliang Gao
- Third Prize: Yuchen Li
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2015 Illinois Integration Bee
- Co-winners: Liming Wang, Yi Xuan
- 2015 Undergraduate Math Contest
- First Prize: Haidong Gong
- Second Prize: Tomas Longeri
- Third Prize: Yiming Huang, Tong Li (tie)
- 2014 Mock Putnam Exam
- First Prize: Haidong Gong
- Second Prize: Yifei Li
- Third Prize: Zhaodong Cai
- 2014 Freshman Math Contest
- First Prize: Phillip Harris
- Second Prize: William Song
- Honorable Mention: Matthew Cho, Fanbo Xiang
- 2014 Undergraduate Math Contest
- First Prize: Haidong Gong
- Second Prize: Pufan Liu
- 2013 Mock Putnam Exam
- First Prize: Luvsandondov Lkhamsuren
- Second Prize: Yijun Cheng
- Third Prize: Haidong Gong, Moon Lee (tie)
- 2013 Freshman Math Contest
- First Prize: Haidong Gong, Xinglun Li (tie)
- Second Prize: Tong Li
- 2013 Undergraduate Math Contest
- First Prize: Danyang Zhuo
- Second Prize: Zehan Chao
- 2012 Mock Putnam Exam
- First Prize: Brian Freidin, Danyang Zhuo (tie)
- Honorable Mention: Wenmian Hua
- 2012 Freshman Math Contest
- First Prize: Chong Han
- Honorable Mention: Luvsandondov Lkhamsuren, Zubin Pahuja
- 2012 Undergraduate Math Contest
- First Prize: Brian Freidin
- Second Prize: Kevin Li and Ding Zhang (tie)
- 2011 Mock Putnam Exam
- First Prize: Meng Guo, Wenmian Hua (tie)
- Honorable Mention: Danyang Zhuo
- 2011 Freshman Math Contest
- First Prize: Ding Zhang
- Honorable Mention: Fan Fei, Robert Weber
- 2011 Undergraduate Math Contest
- First Prize: Brian Freidin, Danyang Zhuo (tie)
- 2010 Mock Putnam Exam
- First Prize: Yi-Wei Chan
- Second Prize: Justin Kopinsky
- Third Prize: Sakulbuth Ekvittayaniphon
- 2010 Undergraduate Math Contest
- First Prize: Yi-Wei Chan
- Second Prize: Justin Kopinsky
- Third Prize: Sakulbuth Ekvittayaniphon
- 2009 Mock Putnam Exam
- First Prize: Yi-Wei Chan, Justin Kopinsky (tie)
- 2009 Undergraduate Math Contest
- First Prize: Justin Kopinsky
- Second Prize: Yi-Wei Chan
- 2008 Mock Putnam Exam
- First Prize: Justin Kopinsky
- 2008 Undergraduate Math Contest
- First Prize: Alex Zhai
- Second Prize: Wanrong Zhang
- Third Prize: Michael Nasti, Tiance Wang (tie)
- 2007 Undergraduate Math Contest
- First Prize: Ben Kaduk
- Second Prize: Walter Faig
- 2006 Undergraduate Math Contest
- First Prize: Sander Parawira
- Second Prize: David Grayson, Ian Shipman (tie)
- 2005 Undergraduate Math Contest
- First Prize: David Grayson, David Klempner, Jay Rauchenstein, Zane
Shi (tie)
- 2004 Undergraduate Math Contest
- First Prize: Vishal Doshi, Wing Ko (tie)
- 2003 Undergraduate Math Contest
- First Prize: Dan Pozdol
- Second Prize: Maria Boca
- Third Prize: Maro Aghazarian
- 2002 Undergraduate Math Contest
- First Prize: Michael Baym
- Second Prize: Ken Scheiwe
- Third Prize: Geoffrey Levine
- Fourth Prize and Rookie Award: Simina Boca
- 2001 Undergraduate Math Contest
- First Prize: Thomas Aref, Michael Baym, Ken Scheiwe (tie)
- 2000 Undergraduate Math Contest
- First Prize: David Dueber and Ken Scheiwe (tie)
- Third Prize: Kaushik Roy
- 1999 Undergraduate Math Contest
- First Prize: Brad Friedman
- Second Prize: Jim Schneider
- Third Prize: Eiji Aoki
- Fourth Prize: Sham Bhat
- 1998 Undergraduate Math Contest
- First Prize: Sham Bhat, Jeff Callahan, Arthur Edelstein,
Michael Roman, Sandip Roy (tie)
- 1997 Undergraduate Math Contest
- First Prize: Ivan Avromavich
- Second Prize: Eiji Aoki
- 1996 Undergraduate Math Contest
- First Prize: Patrick Keenan
- Second Prize: Ivan Avramovich
- Third Prize: Paul Colucci
- 1995 Undergraduate Math Contest
- First Prize: Tsz Ho Chan
- Second Prize: Ivan Avramovich
- Third Prize: Kwong Lin
- Fourth Prize: Paul Colucci
- 1994 Undergraduate Math Contest
- First Prize: Patrick Keenan
- Second Prize: Michael Lee
- Third Prize: Ionel Vasilescu
- 1993 Undergraduate Math Contest
- Orange Contest Winner: Jason Hsu
- Blue Contest Winner: D. Srikrishna
- 1992 Undergraduate Math Contest
- Orange Contest Winner: Michael Rohr
- Blue Contest Winner: Kevin Foster
- 1991 Undergraduate Math Contest
- Orange Contest Winner: Anthony Ye
- Blue Contest Winner: David Beckman
- 1990 Undergraduate Math Contest
- Orange Contest Winner: Eric Persson
- Blue Contest Winner: David Beckman
- 1989 Undergraduate Math Contest
- Orange Contest Winner: Andrew Cary
- Blue Contest Winner: David Beckman
- 1988 Undergraduate Math Contest
- Orange Contest Winner:
- Blue Contest Winner: David Secrest / David Beckman
- 1987 Undergraduate Math Contest
- Orange Contest Winner: Gordon Ye
- Blue Contest Winner: Mark Fritz
- 1986 Undergraduate Math Contest
- Orange Contest Winner:
- Blue Contest Winner:
- 1985 Undergraduate Math Contest
- Orange Contest Winner:
- Blue Contest Winner:
- 1984 Undergraduate Math Contest
- Orange Contest Winner:
- Blue Contest Winner:
- 1983 Undergraduate Math Contest
- Orange Contest Winner:
- Blue Contest Winner:
- 1982 Undergraduate Math Contest
- Orange Contest Winner: John Wiegand
- Blue Contest Winner: Chris Habisohn
- 1981 Undergraduate Math Contest
- Orange Contest Winner: Ping Lau
- Blue Contest Winner:Chris Eddy / J. Walsh
- 1980 Undergraduate Math Contest
- Orange Contest Winner: Jeffrey Fisher
- Blue Contest Winner: Jerome Walsh
- 1979 Undergraduate Math Contest
- Orange Contest Winner: Randall Wright
- Blue Contest Winner: Richard LaSota
- 1978 Undergraduate Math Contest
- Orange Contest Winner: Craig Smith
- Blue Contest Winner: Richard LaSota
- 1977 Undergraduate Math Contest
- Orange Contest Winner: Pat Walker
- Blue Contest Winner: Richard Skora
- 1976 Undergraduate Math Contest
- Orange Contest Winner:
- Blue Contest Winner:
- 1975 Undergraduate Math Contest
- Orange Contest Winner: Tyche Sleator
- Blue Contest Winner: Bruce Hajek
Back to the UI Math Contests page