Many professional mathematicians share a surprisingly similar point-of-origin story about the reasons they chose to pursue mathematics. They were encouraged by an elementary, middle, or high school teacher to participate in a local math contest and unexpectedly won it. Motivated by the desire to help in the development of the next generation of mathematical talent in Alabama, the UAB Department of Mathematics has been offering several contests and informal seminars to local high school students for the past 20 years. The list includes the Math-by-Mail Contest, Train-Your-Brain Math Club, UAB Math School (by correspondence), and, finally, the UAB Math Talent Search (MTS) Contest.
Since its inception in 2001, apprioximately 3,000 students have participated in the MTS Contest. Information about our past and current work can be found Dr. Alexander Blokh's website.
The contest is for students in grades 9, 10, 11, and 12. It features a two-hour Math Olympiad-style test, featuring five to seven problems of increasing difficulty. The problems require creativity, knowledge, and ingenuity. UAB Mathematics professors grade the tests; for the professors, clarity and completeness of the justification of the solution is as important as finding the correct answer. Drs. Alexander Blokh, John Mayer, Lex Oversteegen, Nikita Selinger, Roman Shterenberg, Nandor Simanyi, and Rudi Weikard—along with many mathematics graduate students—have provided regular support to this event. They compile and proofread the problems, as well as host the students, parents, coaches, and chaperons. And, of course, they grade all the solutions in less than two hours.
After a short break due to the pandemic, the UAB MTS Contest resumed on October 29, 2022. In its 19th year, the competition attracted 84 students from eight participating schools. The graders did an excellent job of determining winners in time for the awards ceremony at 1:00 p.m. Schools that won the contest received trophies, while the student winners received certificates and books about mathematics. The following individual prizes and school prizes for top scores were awarded.
9th Grade Individual Winners
- 1st place: Alan Yvan (Hoover)
- 2nd place: Sarah Thomas (Briarwood)
- 3rd place: Emory Causey (Briarwood)
- 4th place: Hampton Smith (Briarwood)
9th Grade School Winners
- 1st place: Hoover
- 2nd place: Briarwood
10th Grade Individual Winners
- 1st place: Isabella Rutladge (Briarwood)
- 2nd place: Hill McCloney (Mountain Brook)
- 3rd place: Carmen Britt (Spain Park)
- 4th place: Reid Gill (Jefferson County International Baccelaureate)
10th Grade School Winners
- 1st place: Briarwood
- 2nd place: Mountain Brook
- 3rd place: Spain Park
11-12th Grades Individual Winners
- 1st place: Tommy Daley (Mountain Brook, 12th grade)
- 2nd place: Vu Ho (Bob Jones, 12th grade)
- 3rd place: Mark Thomas (Briarwood, 12th grade)
- 4th place: Abbey Waters (Briarwood, 12th grade)
11-12th Grades School Winners
- 1st place: Briarwood
- 2nd place: Mountain Brook
- 3rd place: Bob Jones
