By Gargoyle news staff
Posted Monday, May 28, 2007, The OG, news & student awards

Alex Zhai found out Sunday he will
compete for the U.S. in the 2007 IMO.
(Gargoyle photo) (click to enlarge)

JUNIOR ALEX ZHAI has been named one of six students who will represent the United States in the 48th International Mathematical Olympiad this summer in Vietnam.

This is the second consecutive year Zhai has been named to the U.S. team.

Last summer he won a silver medal as the United States placed fifth out of 90 countries at the 2006 IMO, held in Ljubljana, Slovenia.

Zhai learned Sunday about his selection when U.S coach Zuming Feng notified him via e-mail.

His IMO teammates will be:

• Sherry Gong, a senior at Phillips Exeter Academy, Exeter N.H.

• Eric Larson, a sophomore at South Eugene High School, Eugene, Ore.

• Brian Lawrence, a senior at Montgomery Blair High School, Silver Spring, Md.

• Tedrick Leung, a senior at North Hollywood High School, North Hollywood, Calif.

• Arnav Tripathy, a senior at East Chapel Hill High School, Chapel Hill, N.C.

The U.S. team should be especially strong this year. Zhai and Tripathy competed in last year's IMO, while both Gong and Lawrence are returning to the team after deciding to pursue other opportunities last summer, even though they were among the top six finalists in the selection process.

Tripathy won a gold medal in the 2006 IMO. Gong won a silver medal for the U.S. team in 2005 and a silver for the Puerto Rican team in 2004. Lawrence earned a gold medal with a perfect score in the 2005 IMO.

To be selected for the U.S. team, Zhai and the other five students worked their way through a series of math competitions sponsored by the Mathematical Association of America.

The series began in February with the American Mathematics Contest 10 and 12, followed by the American Invitational Mathematics Examination in March and the United States of America Mathematical Olympiad in April.

From an original pool of more than 225,000 students who took part in the AMC, the field was cut to 10,000 students for the AIME and 505 for the USAMO.

Twelve students were named winners of the USAMO, and they were honored last week in Washington, D.C. While they were in the nation's capital, they took one last exam, known as the Team Selection Test.

The six students who finished with the highest combined scores on the USAMO and TST were named to the U.S. IMO team.

Zhai and Gong tied for the second-highest score on the USAMO; Lawrence earned the top mark.

On the TST, Zhai found out Sunday he had the second-highest score as well. He didn't yet know who had the highest, since the scores were paired with student numbers rather than names.

To prepare for this year's IMO, Zhai and his teammates will spend three weeks in June training in the Mathematical Olympiad Summer Program at the University of Nebraska at Lincoln.

The IMO and related activities are scheduled to take place in Hanoi from July 19 to 31.

The contest itself, which involves solving six problems over two days, will be held July 25 and 26. Like the USAMO, the IMO is an essay/proof examination that puts a premium on mathematical creativity rather than rote knowledge.

“It is also of interest that we are going to China about a week before the IMO this year for additional training as well as adjustment to the time zone,” Zhai noted on Sunday shortly after finding out he had been named to the U.S. team. “The date for leaving for China that I've heard is July 10th, but I don't think they've planned out our activities yet.”

[Note: For those interested in learning more about what competing in the International Math Olympiad is like, see Steve Olson's 2004 book, “Count Down: Six Kids Vie for Glory at the World's Toughest Math Competition.”]

RELATED

Alex Zhai's road to the 2007 International Mathematical Olympiad

— Feb. 20, 2007, Gargoyle: Zhai, eight others advance in math contest

— April 6, 2007, Gargoyle: Alex Zhai one step closer to International Math Olympiad … again

— May 7, 2007, Gargoyle: Alex Zhai ties for second-highest score in 2007 USA Mathematical Olympiad

— May 24, 2007, Gargoyle: USA Math Olympiad winner Alex Zhai receives another $15,000 scholarship

— May 28, 2007, Gargoyle: Alex Zhai to represent U.S. again in International Math Olympiad