2005 William Lowell Putnam Mathematical Competition Results

Seven students from Youngstown State University participated
in the 2005 Putnam Mathematical Competition. The students were
David Gohlke, J. T. Hird, David Martin, Matt Ward,
Brian Hamilton, Nikki Casacchia, and Becky Grove.
There were 3545 participants from 500 colleges and universities
in the United States and Canada.

The Putnam exam consists of twelve questions each worth 10 points
a piece so that scores range from 0 to 120. This year, about 1660
participants received 0 points, which is about 47% of the total
number of participants taking the test. This shows how challenging
the exam questions are.

David Gohlke, J. T. Hird and David Martin finished ranked in the
top 30% of all participants taking the exam. Brian Hamilton finished
ranked in the top 38%.

The YSU team finished in the top 16% of all teams in the competition.
This is exceptional work on the part of our students in this
prestigious competition. This is the second highest team ranking we
have had since I have been here at YSU. Congratulations are in order
to all participants on a job very well done. Also special thanks to
Jacek Fabrykowski and Doug Faires for helping prepare the team.

Also, Aaron Pollack, son of Dave Pollack, took the exam representing
Duke University. He finished in the top 3% of all participants taking
the exam as a freshman.