Kansas State University Students Finish 12th Overall
and 1st Among Public Universities
in the 1996 Putnam Mathematical Competition
Manhattan - Kansas State University's Putnam Team finished 12th
overall and 1st among public universities in the 1996 William Lowell
Putnam Mathematical Competition and ranked in the top 4 percent of the 294
teams in the Competition. This was their highest team ranking ever.
During the previous 7 competitions, K-State finished first in the Big 8/12
Conference in the Putnam Competition on 3 separate occasions. Six of
K-State's best finishes have come in the last 8 years. Duke
University won the 1996 Putnam Competition.K-State's top scorer was Jason Ross who placed 115th among 2,407 students in the Competition. Ross, a senior in mathematics and computer engineering from Overland Park, ranked in the top 5 percent of the competitors. Ross tied James Hu, from Manhattan, for the best performance ever by a K-Stater. In addition, Ross was among the top 5 students of the Big 12 Conference schools. He will receive Fung's Putnam Achievement Award, established by the Fung family, from Manhattan. Francis Fung and James Hu, are K-State graduates who subsequently received doctorates from Princeton University and the University of Washington at Saint Louis, respectively.
Daniel Lee, a senior in mathematics from Kensington placed in the top 9 percent. Jeremiah Goertz, a senior in mathematics and computer science from Dodge City, and Louis Johnson, junior in mathematics from Saint John, both placed in the top 13 percent of the competition. Brady Jesse, a senior mathematics major from Olathe, and Joseph Schmidt, a senior in mathematics and chemistry from Manhattan, placed in the top 16 percent of the competitors. Eric Lawrence, a junior in mathematics from Andover, placed in the top 19 percent.