A Hope College team of four mathematics students won the Jeopardy contest at the national Mathfest Conference in Madison, Wisconsin on Wednesday, July 30, 2008. The team, consisting of Daniel Lithio, Forrest Gordon, Blair Williams, and Zachary Mitchell defeated teams from Lafayette College, Texas A&M, and Mount Union College. Questions tested knowledge of mathematics - both in problem solving and general history.

Lower Michigan Mathematics Competition takes place in early April, when teams from schools in Lower Michigan will vie for the rights to the coveted Klein bottle trophy. Students travel to a college in Michigan where they work on an exam in groups of three.

• 2009: Hope sent 16 students (6 teams). Hope's top team placed 11th.
• 2008: Hope sent 10 students (4 teams) Hope's top team (James Daly, Garrison Benson, and Thao Le) placed 3rd in the competition. 
• 2007: Hope sent 35 students. Hope's team finished 8th out of 37 teams.
• 2006: Hope hosted the LMMC, fielded 12 teams, and placed three teams in the top 10.
• 2004: Hope place second (after a tie-breaker), third, and ninth.
• 2003: A team from Hope College successfully defended the title, winning 1st place at Saginaw Valley State University.
• 2002: A team from Hope College won 1st place (out of 31 teams) and brought the Klein bottle trophy back to Hope! Other teams from Hope placed 20th and 22nd.

Michigan Autumn Take Home (MATH) Challenge: This is a regional team competition that takes place in November. Students work in groups of two or three on 10 problems during a three-hour exam. Hope's recent MATH Challenge history:

• 2008: The MATH Challenge was not held in 2008.
• 2007: The winner of the competition is Saginaw Valley State University. Hope College teams placed 6th and 8th.
• 2006: The biggest competition ever! Total of 63 teamsfrom 23 different schools participated in the event. Taylor University, Michigan Tech, and Kalamazoo College were in a three-way tie for first place. Hope's top team placed 8th.
• 2005: Hope placed in the top 10.
• 2004: Hope team finished in the top 10.
• 2003: Hope team won the first place! Our top team was Daniela Banu, Stefan Coltisor, and Heidi Libner with a score of 85/100, besting runner-up Calvin by 10 points.
• 2002: Hope fielded 3 teams. Two of these teams tied for 3rd place.
• 2001: Hope fielded 4 teams. One Hope team finished in 3rd place, and 3 Hope teams finished in the top 10.

Putnam Exam: The William Lowell Putnam exam is a two-part, six hour exam offered across the country on the first Saturday in December. The morning portion begins precisely at 10:00 a.m. and goes until 1:00 p.m.  Then there is a two hour break (1:00 to 3:00) and the afternoon session is 3:00 to 6:00 p.m. Each institution chooses three students whose scores on the exam are totalled to produce the team score. There are cash prizes for the top participants. This is the most prestigious mathematical competition for undergraduates in the nation and is administered by the Mathematical Association of America.

• 2008: Hope College was represented by Jessica Clouse,
  Zachary Mitchell, Thao Le, and Bobby Nash. Zachary Mitchell scored 9 points.
• 2007: Hope College was represented by Martha Precup,
  Forrest Gordon, Joshua Kinder and Jessica Clouse.
• 2006: Benjamin Crumpler, Kyle Williams and Ryan Weaver participated in the exam. Ryan Weaver scored 10 points.
• 2005: Jim Boerkoel participated in the exam.
• 2003: Peter Van Wylen's score placed him in the top 11% of all students taking the test and Michael Rininger's score placed him in the top 60%.
• 2001: Six Hope students took the exam. Hope's team place 148th out of 336 nationally and one Hope student place 365th out of 2954 nationally (in the top 13 in Michigan).

Mathematical Contest in Modeling: This is an international contest in early February. Students work in teams of three on interdisciplinary, open-ended problems over a 4-day period. The competition requires students to research a problem, produce a mathematical model of the problem, and analyze the model and its results. The contest is an excellent opportunity to experience the intense teamwork and use of applied mathematics as they occur in the world after graduation.

Students interested in competitions should contact Aaron Cinzori or John Stoughton. Practice and informational sessions for the competitions occur throughout the academic year.

Check this page for more detailed information and competition results.