Meet the 2011 National Contestants
Below are the contestants who have qualified for the national Who Wants to Be a Mathematician contest, Friday, January 7 at the Joint Mathematics Meetings in New Orleans (Marriott, Mardi Gras EFGH, 9:30-11:00 a.m.).
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Rohit Agrawal Senior at Wayzata High School (MN) Won first place in Minnesota State High School Math League Qualified for 2010 national Who Wants to Be a Mathematician Loves skiing and cold weather |
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Daniel Cooper Senior at Jesuit High School (LA) First-place individual in State Mu Alpha Theta 9th, 10th, and 11th grades Plays bass in the church band Loves corny jokes |
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Anthony Grebe Junior at Pine View School (FL) USAMO qualifier in 8th, 9th and 10th grades Has perfect pitch Shares his birth date with fellow contestant Shonak Patel |
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Stephen Lamontagne Junior at Barrington High School (RI) Co-champion in 2010 Rhode Island Math League state finals Favorite thing about school is the math team Can't wait until he goes to New Orleans |
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Evan O'Dorney Senior, homeschooled, affiliated with the Venture School (CA) Gold medalist in 2010 IMO, silver medals in 2008 and 2009 2010 National Who Wants to Be a Mathematician champion 2007 National Spelling Bee champion |
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Shonak Patel Senior at Liberty High School (PA) Member of first-place team in 2010 ARML competition If he wins the $5000 first prize, he'll donate part of his winnings to an orphanage in India Sees math in everything around him |
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Richard Spence Junior at the Sonoran Science Academy (AZ) USAMO qualifier Favorite things about school are the Sonoran math and robotics programs Won first place (Division 4) in 2010 National Scrabble Championship |
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Bryce Taylor Senior at the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics Attended MOSP in 2008 Member of 2010 national Science Bowl championship team Enjoys writing and solving riddles and mysteries |
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Noah Taylor Senior at Pickerington High School Central (OH) Qualified for national Mathcounts in his first year of participation Performed with the school band in the Rose Parade (twice) and Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade Can't wait until college and the freedom that comes with it |
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David Wise Senior, homeschooled (CO) First place in University of Northern Colorado statewide math contest National finalist in Music Teachers National Association Senior Piano Duet competition Likes to play speed chess and Bughouse, a fast four-player version of chess |
The contestants were selected based on scores on the national qualifying test and will compete for up to US$10,000 (total) for themselves and their school's math department.
Partial support of the event comes from a National Science Foundation Distinguished Teaching Scholar's grant, held by Ken Ono (University of Wisconsin and Emory University). In addition to the cash prizes in the competition, there are also prizes donated by: Texas Instruments, Maplesoft Inc., John Wiley & Sons, and the AMS. The game is a program of the AMS Public Awareness Office and was developed by Mike Breen (AMS Public Awareness Officer) and Bill Butterworth (DePaul University).
