On October 25th, 2018 the UConn graduate student chapter of the AMS held their Second Annual Integration Bee, where undergraduates of varying levels of mathematical background came together to test their knowledge of integrals. Students took turns in groups of six, going to the blackboard to compute various integrals on the spot. In each round a student had four minutes to compute an integral, and if time ran out or the answer was incorrect a student received a strike. After two strikes a student was out of the competition.

After an hour and half there were two finalists and five other students competing for third place. The rivalry was pretty intense among students for third place. They all stayed in the competition for round round after round until they were asked to integrate cos(ln(1/x)). Only Nick Juricic evaluated it correctly and he got third place.

The two finalists were Samuel Degnan-Morgenstern and Zhongwei Wang. The final battle between them was very dramatic and exhausting for both. After about another hour Samuel was the winner for successfully integrating 1/(e^2-x^2). Contestants who scored in the top three won prizes that were generously donated from our sponsors: Cengage, Lizzie’s Curbside Catering, and Moe’s Southwest Grill.

Although there were only three winners who officially won prizes, all students attending the Integration Bee received a nice meal compliments of the AMS and the joy of solving math problems.

Pictured from left to right: Samuel Degnan-Morgenstern (1st place), Zhongwei Wang (2nd place), and Nick Juricic (3rd place).

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On April 19, 2018, UConn’s graduate student chapter of the American Mathematical Society (AMS) organized the math department’s first annual integration bee, in which undergraduates came together to test their skill at (indefinite) integration.

After welcoming remarks by department head Ambar Sengupta and the AMS Graduate Student Chapter officers, the students got to work. In the first round each student was given 5 minutes to compute 3 integrals. In later rounds students came up to the blackboard in groups of four to compute an integral in four minutes. A wrong answer or no answer was a strike against a student and, unlike in baseball, after 2 strikes the student was out.

After three hours the four remaining contenders were Nick Juricic, Grace Lauber, Zhongwei Wang, and Zerun Zhao. Grace and Zerun competed for third place, with Grace clutching that position with only seconds to spare. In the last round Nick and Zhongwei competed to compute the integral of cot(x)sec^2(x), which Nick figured out to take first place.

The winners received gift certificates from several area businesses: Bonchon Chicken, Gansett Wraps, Kathmandu Kitchen, Lizzie’s Curbside, Moe’s Southwest Grill, Starbucks, and Subway. All participants received a free meal compliments of the AMS and the brain nourishment that comes from solving math problems.

The AMS graduate student chapter thanks all the participants and volunteers for their help making this event a success and it looks forward to organizing the Integration Bee again next year.

Pictured above, from left to right, Nick Juricic (1st place), Zhongwei Wang (2nd place), Grace Lauber (3rd place), and Zerun Zhao (4th place).