Math department tries out its skills at a conference at Mississippi College
Kristen Clarkson
Issue date: 3/30/09 Section: News
Five students from McNeese recently participated in a math tournament. Thomas Scarborough presented a paper on mathematics as well in the paper contest division of the math tournament. The other four students, Jasmin Kurt, an engineering major, Mukesh Wagle, computer science major, Jhapendra Sakota, math major and Katherine Cox, also a math major, participated in the actual math test problem solving part of the tournament.
These five students were chosen by faculty members in their respective departments who picked which students they thought might enjoy and excel at this tournament. The students traveled to Mississippi College with some of their teachers to participate in the tournament.
The tournament is in association with MAA (Mathematical Associations of America), which is comprised of many different sections. McNeese is part of the section that encompasses Louisiana and Mississippi schools. This tournament was the annual section meeting for Louisiana and Mississippi.
Dr. Doucette, a math professor at McNeese, and Vick Schneider of UL-Lafayette, coordinated efforts to make a reasonable, yet challenging test for these students. The test is 20 questions-10 mandatory questions and the next five or 10 of the student's choice-and the material covers the entire undergraduate curriculum including things like calculus, discreet math, linear algebra, advanced calculus and abstract algebra.
The top three of the 18 teams from11 schools at the tournament were awarded prizes. The first prize of $75 went to LSU, the second prize of $50 to UL and the third prize of $25 to University of Mississippi. McNeese tied for eighth place along with Mississippi State University. There are usually two teams per school; one school had three teams, though. There were a total of about 80 students in attendance. The winning team scored 127 out of 150 points, and McNeese scored 71 out of 150.
The students who attended said that they enjoyed the experience. "It was fun, because I got to be a math nerd and no one made fun of me," said Jasmin Kurt.
These five students were chosen by faculty members in their respective departments who picked which students they thought might enjoy and excel at this tournament. The students traveled to Mississippi College with some of their teachers to participate in the tournament.
The tournament is in association with MAA (Mathematical Associations of America), which is comprised of many different sections. McNeese is part of the section that encompasses Louisiana and Mississippi schools. This tournament was the annual section meeting for Louisiana and Mississippi.
Dr. Doucette, a math professor at McNeese, and Vick Schneider of UL-Lafayette, coordinated efforts to make a reasonable, yet challenging test for these students. The test is 20 questions-10 mandatory questions and the next five or 10 of the student's choice-and the material covers the entire undergraduate curriculum including things like calculus, discreet math, linear algebra, advanced calculus and abstract algebra.
The top three of the 18 teams from11 schools at the tournament were awarded prizes. The first prize of $75 went to LSU, the second prize of $50 to UL and the third prize of $25 to University of Mississippi. McNeese tied for eighth place along with Mississippi State University. There are usually two teams per school; one school had three teams, though. There were a total of about 80 students in attendance. The winning team scored 127 out of 150 points, and McNeese scored 71 out of 150.
The students who attended said that they enjoyed the experience. "It was fun, because I got to be a math nerd and no one made fun of me," said Jasmin Kurt.
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