Hundreds converge on YSU to compute and compete

By Denise Dick

denise_dick@vindy.com

Youngstown

They sat huddled around a sheet of problems, pencils at the ready.

About 350 students from 35 Northeast Ohio and Western Pennsylvania high schools tested their mathematical prowess Friday during Youngstown State University’s MathFest at Kilcawley Center.

“I can’t think of anything I would rather do than spend a day doing mathematics,” Nathan Ritchey, professor and chairman of YSU’s Mathematics and Statistics Department, told students at the start of event.

He referred to a recent Wall Street Journal article listing the top four jobs. Three of them — mathematician, actuary and statistician — all involve math. Software engineer is the top job.

Martin Abraham, dean of YSU’s Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics College, pointed out that the STEM school’s other disciplines wouldn’t be possible without math.

“You can’t do engineering, science or technology without mathematics,” Abraham said.

During the mixed team competition, the team of Antuon Honzu, 18, of LaBrae High School, Marley Guzman, 17, of Crestview and Andrew Ayers, 18, of Neshannock, all seniors, divided the problems.

Antuon handled the logic problems while Marley and Andrew worked on the Sudoku, a number-placement puzzle.

“The hardest was the binary code,” Marley said. “You have to know computer programming.”

They haven’t really studied that, so they tried to figure out a pattern, she said.

Antuon said the logic problems were OK.

“You just have to organize them and think them through,” he said. “You come here, you better have your thinking cap on.”

This marks YSU’s ninth MathFest, said Angela Spalsbury, an assistant professor of mathematics and statistics. The event is intended to be fun and students spent part of the day in workshops, learning about different uses for math.

Mathematics and Origami, Mathematics and Medicine and How America Elects its President were some of the workshops students could choose.

Spalsbury said about 50 undergraduates, many former MathFest participants, assist with the event, making it possible.

Cash prizes were awarded to the winners of some of the contests like the Challenge of Champions Test, a tough math test students complete