Students win top math prize

Two University students were recently named among the top five performers in a prestigious nationwide mathematics competition. Princeton's team in the competition also placed second, winning $20,000 for the mathematics department.

Ana Caraiani '07 was named a Putnam Fellow for the second consecutive year, and Aaron Pixton '08 joined her among the top five in the annual William Lowell Putnam Mathematics Competition, which was held in December.

Though the University's results were recently made available to the mathematics department, results for the other top-scoring individuals and teams are not yet available.

This year, 3,733 students from 515 different institutions competed. Caraiani was also recognized for being the highest performing female competitor for the second year in a row.

The University's team placed second for the eighth time and ranked among the top five teams for the twenty-third time since 1938, when the Putnam was created. This year's team was made up of Caraiani, Suehyun Kwon '06 and Mihai Manea '05.

The Putnam — the most prestigious undergraduate mathematics competition in North America — was established in memory of its namesake, a Harvard University alumnus.

Administered by the Mathematical Association of America, the competition is meant to test competitors' mathematical originality and technical competence. The top five individual students each receive a $2,500 scholarship. The top-five teams' home departments receive cash prizes, as do the individual members on these teams.

Caraiani said that, though the second-time win was a "big surprise," she is already setting her sights on two more wins in her remaining years at Princeton.

"I'm really happy to maintain the standard," she said. "I did it twice, I think it's worth trying it for all four years."

Caraiani also predicted strong performances from the University team in future years.

"It needs to keep going," she said. "There are many good freshmen . . . the Princeton team will do very well because of the freshmen."

Pixton said that he was pleased — and somewhat surprised — with his performance.

Get the best of the ‘Prince’ delivered straight to your inbox. Subscribe now »

"It was something that I wanted to do in one of my four years of college," Pixton said. "I didn't necessarily expect to become a Putnam fellow on my first try but I didn't discount the possibility. I was hoping to be in the top 15 [this year]."

Pixton said he will "certainly try" to win the Putnam in his three remaining years at the University, though "it's not easy." He plans on majoring in mathematics and then studying for his Ph.D. in preparation for a possible career in mathematical research.

The University's strong performance is an affirmation of the quality of Princeton's mathematics program, said Jordan Ellenberg, a professor in the mathematics department and two-time Putnam fellow.

"I think it's fantastic for the department. It's just a signal of the incredible strength of the undergraduate math majors here," Ellenberg said. "Students who are planning to study mathematics quite naturally want to be around the very best students."

"This is kind of a rough and approximate for us to signal that Princeton is a great place to be a math undergraduate — but I guess everybody knows that already," he added.

Pixton agreed. "Princeton's very strong math program was one of the reasons why I came here," he said.

Before coming to the University, Caraiani won two gold medals at the International Math Olympiad. Pixton represented the United States several times as well.

Since 1938, 16 Princeton undergraduates have been named Putnam fellows at least once. During that time, the University's team has been ranked among the top five teams 23 times.

Harvard's team has ranked in the top five 50 times, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology has ranked in the top five 35 times, and the California Institute of Technology has done so 27 times.

Several Putnam Fellows have gone on to win the Nobel Prize in Physics and the Fields Medal, which is often considered to be the equivalent of a Nobel Prize in Mathematics.