Math students win first place at competition

This spring, Augusta University mathematics students took part in the Mathematical Association of America Southeastern Section’s (MAASE) math jeopardy competition and won first place.

Augusta students competed against 28 other teams, including representatives from The Citadel, University of North Carolina at Asheville and Georgia Southern University.

Competitors were required to solve problems from all different areas of undergraduate mathematics, including geometry, calculus, linear algebra and differential equations.

The Augusta team won the competition during the final jeopardy round.

“The team was behind going into final jeopardy, and they were the only ones that got the final jeopardy right,” said Dr. Cornelius Stallman, team advisor and associate professor of mathematics. “The only reason the team got into the final round was because they pulled a wild card. They won the first round and came in second on the second round. Without the wild card, they wouldn’t have made it into the final round.”

Stallman enjoyed watching his students participate.

“It was quite exciting because they were not ahead,” he said. “We weren’t expecting them to get into the final round, but then they did. So, it was very exciting.”

The last time Augusta University won the MAASE jeopardy competition was in 2008.