Putnam Mathematical Competition

The William Lowell Putnam Mathematical Competition is the most prestigious
mathematics competition for undergraduate students in North America.  To quote from the  official Putnam web site:
The competition began in 1938 and is designed to stimulate a healthful rivalry in mathematical studies in the colleges and universities of the United States and Canada. It exists because Mr. William Lowell Putnam had a profound conviction in the value of organized team competition in regular college studies. Mr. Putnam, a member of the Harvard class of 1882, wrote an article for the December 1921 issue of the Harvard Graduates’ Magazine in which he described the merits of an intellectual intercollegiate competition. To establish such a competition, his widow, Elizabeth Lowell Putnam, in 1927 created a trust fund known as the William Lowell Putnam Intercollegiate Memorial Fund. The first competition supported by this fund was in the field of English and a few years later a second experimental competition was held, this time in mathematics between two institutions. It was not until after Mrs. Putnam’s death in 1935 that the examination assumed its present form and was placed under the administration of the Mathematical Association of America.

The contest typically takes place on the first Saturday in December, with a morning session
(Paper A) from 10:00am - 1:00pm and an afternoon session (Paper B) from 3:00pm - 6:00pm.

Students at Clemson University who are interested in participating in the Putnam Competition for 2002 should contact Dr. Neil Calkin in Martin Hall O-109.