A Colorado State University team placed in the top 10 percent of the William Lowell Putnam Mathematical Competition, according to final results released March 25. Out of 419 colleges and universities, the Colorado State team achieved 15th place, the best finish in the competition since 1984 when the team placed 10th. The top four teams represented Harvard, MIT, Princeton and CalTech. Ore. The daylong exam is given every December to undergraduate teams and individuals throughout North America. It consists of twelve problems worth 10 points each, for a maximum total of 120 points.
Participants have six hours to answer the problems.
The median score on the exam this year was nine. Let N be the positive integer with 1998 decimal digits, all of them 1. The team met each week during the fall semester with Dick Osborne, professor of mathematics, to discuss Putnam-style problems, introduce techniques and brainstorm solutions. The Colorado State department of mathematics has fielded a Putnam team every year for over 20 years. Last year the team placed 30th.