June 27, 2010
MATH OLYMPIAD TEAM CANADA SELECTED
Canada’s Top Math Students Selected for International Mathematical Olympiad
OTTAWA, Ontario — The Canadian Mathematical Society, with the support of the Imperial Oil Foundation and other corporate and provincial sponsors, has chosen six of Canada’s brightest and best math students to represent Canada at the 51st International Mathematical Olympiad (IMO), being held this year in Astana, Kazakhstan from July 2 to July 14. The IMO is the student world championship of mathematics.
BACKGROUND
The International Mathematical Olympiad is the world championship high school mathematics competition. Canada has been participating in the IMO since 1981 and in that timeframe has received 17 gold, 40 silver and 68 bronze medals. This year Canada's IMO team will be pitting their skills against more than 500 of the world’s best students from over 90 countries.
Canada’s success at the IMO would not be possible without the assistance of our corporate and provincial sponsors. In addition to the support of our major sponsor, the Imperial Oil Foundation, the CMS gratefully acknowledges the education activity support of the following organizations:
- Sun Life Financial
- NSERC PromoScience
- Samuel Beatty Fund
- Nelson Education
- Department of Education (Alberta)
- Department of Education (Manitoba)
- Department of Education (New Brunswick)
- Department of Education (Newfoundland and Labrador)
- Department of Education (Northwest Territories)
- Department of Education (Nova Scotia)
- Department of Education (Nunavut)
- Ministry of Education (Ontario)
- Ministère de l’Éducation, Loisir et Sport (Québec)
- Department of Education (Saskatchewan)
- Department of Education (Yukon)
- Centre de recherches mathématiques (CRM)
- The Fields Institute
- The Pacific Institute for the Mathematical Sciences (PIMS)
- Wilfrid Laurier University
Team Canada biographies (PDF)
Wilfrid Laurier University: Announcement
The six student members of the team are: Yu (Robin) Cheng, Pinetree Secondary School (Coquitlam, BC); Alex Song, Detroit Country Day School (Detroit, MI); Hunter Spink, Western Canada High School (Calgary, AB); Chen Sun, A.B. Lucas Secondary School (London, ON); Yuqi Zhu, University Hill Secondary School (Vancouver, BC); and Jonathan Zung, University of Toronto Schools (Toronto, ON). These students were selected from among the many thousands of students in grades 7 to 12 and CEGEP’s who participated in local, provincial and national mathematics contests across Canada.
"These six students have demonstrated the exceptional problem solving skills, understanding and imagination that are so vital to compete against the best in the world” remarked Dr. Anthony To-Ming Lau, President of the Canadian Mathematical Society. "They represent some of the brightest and best of our students and will be excellent representatives for Canada at this prestigious international competition."
“Just like in the Olympic Games, math competitions at the international level require great commitment, discipline and preparation” noted Dr. Christopher Small, Chair of the CMS committee that selected the students. “Our students consistently perform very well. At last year's IMO in Germany, the Canadian team was awarded one gold, three silver and two bronze medals and placed 18th out of 104 countries.”
The team will be accompanied to the IMO by Team Leader Adrian Tang (University of Calgary), Deputy Leader Victoria Krakovna (University of Toronto) and Deputy Leader Observer Alexander Remorov (University of Toronto).
At the June 27, 2010 launch of the special training camp at Wilfrid Laurier University in Waterloo, the Rt. Hon. Stephen Harper, Prime Minister of Canada, sent congratulations, noting “On behalf of the Government of Canada, I join with the Canadian Mathematical Society and all Canadians in wishing you good luck and good fortune at the upcoming IMO.”
For more information, contact:
|
Johan Rudnick, Executive Director Canadian Mathematical Society Tel: (613) 733-2662 director@cms.math.ca |
or |
Dr. Christopher Small, Chair, IMO Committee Dept. of Statistics and Actuarial Science University of Waterloo Tel: (519) 888-4567 ext. 35541 cgsmall@math.uwaterloo.ca |
About the Canadian Mathematical Society (CMS)
The CMS is the main national organization whose goal is to promote and advance the discovery, learning, and application of mathematics. The Society's activities cover the whole spectrum of mathematics including: scientific meetings, research publications, and the promotion of excellence in mathematics education at all levels. The CMS annually sponsors mathematics competitions that recognize outstanding student achievements.
