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U.S. Competitors All Win Medals at 2011 China Girls Math Olympiad

August 12, 2011

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All of the young women on the U.S. team that competed at the 2011 China Girls Mathematical Olympiad (CGMO) won medals. Among the eight high school girls on the U.S. team, two students won gold medals, one student won a silver medal, and five students were awarded bronze medals.

Gold medals were awarded to Danielle Wang, 14, a freshman entering Westmont High School (Campbell, California) this fall, and Victoria Xia, 15, a sophomore at Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology (Vienna, Virginia). Julia Huang, 15, a sophomore at Lynbrook High School (Saratoga, CA), won a silver medal. Bronze medals were awarded to Rebecca Burks, 16, a junior at Danaidae Learning Studio (Los Altos, CA); Christina Chen, 16, a junior at Newton North High School (Newton, MA); Sarah Herrmann, 15, a junior at La Jolla High School (La Jolla, CA); Elaine Hou, 15, a sophomore at C. Leon King High School (Seffner, FL); and Haotian (Tiffany) Wu, 16, a junior at Clements High School (Sugar Land, TX).

“This is a young team,” said Steve Dunbar, Director of American Mathematics Competitions. “For each student this was their first experience with international competition. The outstanding results this year are a good indicator for future competitions.”

The Olympiad was held on July 28-August 3, 2011, in Shenzhen, near Hong Kong in Southern China’s Guangdong Province.

The team spent three weeks preparing for the competition at the Mathematical Olympiad Summer Program (MOSP) offered by the MAA on the campus of the University of Nebraska, at Lincoln. Team members regularly updated a blog during MOSP and the CGMO.

“The MAA is extremely pleased to see these outstanding results,” said Steve Dunbar, Director of the American Mathematics Competitions. “Our selection process through the USA Math Olympiad and Junior Math Olympiad is rigorous, and the training at the Mathematical Olympiad Summer Program (MOSP) is equally rigorous.  The medals won by the girls shows that U.S. students are very capable of meeting all these challenges.”

The CGMO started in 2002 as a competition for girls in China, but has expanded to include teams from around the world. This is the fifth year in a row that Mathematical Sciences Research Institute (MSRI), in partnership with the Mathematical Association of American, has sponsored the U.S. team.

Zuming Feng served as coach assisted by Inna Zakharevich (MIT) and Maria Monks (UC Berkeley). Feng, who teaches at Phillips Exeter Academy, is the Director of MOSP and has coached the U.S. team at the International Mathematical Olympiad (IMO) since 2003.

Source: MSRI Press Release (pdf)

Related links:

China Girls Math Olympiad
2011 CGMO Team Blog

Photo of the 2011 U.S. team courtesy of MSRI

Id: 
1176
Start Date: 
Friday, August 12, 2011