Penn State Hazleton: Math and Computer Science Competitions

Computer Science Competition
Math Competition - Problem file - due December 1, 2009
Awards
Sample Problems from Previous Competitions
Undergraduate Research

The Student Competitions in Math and Computer Science program is an effort to improve the quality of education at the Hazleton campus. The purpose of the competitions is to encourage the development of creative thinking and problem solving techniques as well as to promote excellence in a competitive, out-of-class setting. The competition will provide the opportunity for students to interact, exchange ideas and compete, organize ideas, think logically and develop higher-level cognitive thinking. Such competitions also promote the sharing of knowledge between students and educators.

Students who successfully participate in these competitions will be recognized for their efforts through the presentation of a certificate. Students are also encouraged to consider presenting successful results at the campus Undergraduate Research Fair.

Faculty Contacts

Computer Science
Pavel Azalov

Math
Semyon Litvinov
Frank Marko

Computer Science Competition

The Computer Science competition is an algorithmic programming competition for students at Penn State Hazleton. In the Computer Science competition, students compete individually in solving a set of algorithmic programming problems using the computer as a tool and C++ or Java programming languages. The problems might require further reading or research.

The Computer Science competition will be judged using criteria such as:

the program loads and runs without errors (syntax, logical and run time errors) and closes cleanly on exit
the program makes use of modules, e.g. subroutines

Guidelines for Computer Science Submission

Any amount of consultation with written materials is allowed. This doesn't mean that you can ask someone how to solve a problem. Do not ask someone where to look up an answer. Do not submit programs you wrote in collaboration with others. All solutions must be your own work.
Programs must be written in C++ or Java. All input data is to be entered by keyboard. All results are to be printed on the monitor.
All materials listed in number 4 below must be included in a zipped file and submitted as an email attachment by the posted deadline to Dr. Pavel Azalov
Email: pka10@psu.edu
The solution of all problems should include:

Listing of all program modules.
A description of the used algorithm (printed material).
The source codes of all program modules. Your name and e-mail address must be written as comment lines in the beginning of all program modules.
The exe file of the program. The file name must be: problem_number.exe. Example: problem1.exe, problem2.exe, problem3.exe
All files (source and exe) must be included in the submission.

Math Competition Problem file - Due December 1, 2009

The problems in the mathematical competition will be challenging and will not assume any knowledge of college mathematics. However, the problems might require further reading or research.

There are specific requirements for submitted solutions. The proofs or justifications must be clear, detailed and concise and should not require any further explanations. The emphasis is put on the explanation and not on the final result as is standard in mathematics.

Guidelines for Math Submission

Math Olympiad Round rounds are announced each semester.
Submission Deadline will be posted.
Papers should be submitted to Dr. Simon Litvinov or Dr. Frank Marko by the posted deadline.

Awards

Year/Semester	Computer Science	Math
2008/2009	Preston P. Chaderton 1st Place
2007/2008	Matthew Keniston 1st Place	Matthew Keniston 1st Place
2006/2007	John Ballantyne 1st Place: TIE Natalie Sharbaugh 1st Place TIE Thomas Dowdney 2nd Place Jesse Fox 3rd Place	Brandon Herman 1st Place John Caballero 2nd Place Brandon Farzad 3rd Place
2005/2006	Jean Costa 1st Place	Brandon Herman 1st Place Dhaval Bhalodia 2nd Place Abdalla Nassar 3rd Place Tomas Marko Honorable Mention
2003/2004	Matthew Hance Ronald Harman Nathan Hedrick Michael Mansell Mitchell D. Mogilski Jr Robert Tarlecki 2nd Place Jacek Turowski 3rd Place Zachary Zullick 1st Place
2002/2003	Robert Rinish 1st Place Dezhu Chen 2nd Place	Ron Harman 1st Place David Ozalas 2nd Place
Spring 2002	Chris Cimaszewski 1ST PLACE James Tarlecki 2ND PLACE Madhavi Veerabathini 3RD PLACE Robert Rinish 3RD PLACE Matt Pavelko 3RD PLACE Brett Kluskiewicz 3RD PLACE	Four students participated in the second round of the competition. All of them submitted solutions to all problems and they are all recognized as successful participants: Michael Everett Anthony Saltsman Chris Brown David Ozalas Honorable Mention: Michael Everett for the original solution to problem #3.

Sample Problems from Previous Competitions (PDF Files)

Computer Science

Spring 02: Round 1
Spring 08: Round 1, Round 2
Spring 07: Round 1, Round 2
Spring 06: Round 1
Spring 05: Round 1, Round 2
Spring 04: Round 1, Round 2
Spring 03: Round 1, Round 2
Spring 02: Round 1, Round 2

Math

Fall 08: Round 1
Fall 08 Solutions: Round1
Fall 07: Round 1 and 2
Spring 07: Round 1, Round 2
Spring 07 Solutions: Round 1, Round 2
Fall 06: Round 1, Round 2
Fall 06 Solutions: Round 1, Round 2
Spring 06: Round 3
Fall 05: Round1, Round 2
Fall 04: Round 1
Spring 04: Round 1, Round 2
Spring 03: Round 1, Round 2
Fall 02: Round 1, Round 2
Spring 02 Problems: Round 1, Round 2
Spring 02 Solutions: Round 1, Round 2