Bucknell students have had some terrific performances in recent years. Last year, Bucknell ranked 68 out of 487 schools, and third in the Mathematical Association of America section that covers Eastern Pennsylvania and Delaware (EPaDel) behind Penn and Haverford. Skyler Le (’27, Mathematics major) had a score of 32, with a rank of 369 out of 4329 participants.
In preparation for this year’s event, taking place on Saturday, December 5th, there are also student-led practice sessions every Tuesday in the Olin Math Lounge, led by Meshkat Alam (’28, Physics and Mathematics major).
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Want to try a problem of your own? Here’s an example to think about.
A grasshopper starts at the origin in the coordinate plane and makes a sequence of hops. Each hop has length 5, and after each hop the grasshopper is at a point whose coordinates are both integers; thus, there are 12 possible locations for the grasshopper after the first hop. What is the smallest number of hops needed for the grasshopper to reach the point (2021, 2021)?
Our department has a strong record of past performance. Shout out to past Mathematics and Statistics Department Competitions Committee chairs for keeping track of the history.
Last year (academic year 2025-2026) we had 12 participants. The Putnam for the academic year 2024-2025 was notoriously difficult. The median score was 2, with the average score at 8 (out of 120). We had 5 students participate. Skyler Le still went on to earn a score of 22 and was ranked among the top 500 participants out of approximately 4,000. In the academic year 2023-2024 we had 8 students participate. Skyler (42 pts) and Anh Tran ’24 (41 pts) were both ranked between 101 and 200 out of the 3,857 total students who took the exam. Bucknell’s team placed 3rd in the EPaDel MAA section. All of the students scored points, and 6 of the 8 students had scores in the double digits.
Above is the Academic Year 2022-23 Putnam Participants: Back row (left to right): Changkun Guan ’24, Yang Hong ’23, Jonathan Seitz ’26, Kerong Wang ’24, MinhPhuong Cao ’26. Front row: Mikey Ferguson ’25, Vy Tran ’25, Cole Kratz ’26, Michael Perez Palapa ’23, Susan Deering ’26, Anh Tran ’24. Missing from photo: Clara Chaplin ’25, Jiasong Zhu ’24.
Above is the Academic Year 2021-22 Putnam Participants: Back row (left to right): Alejandro Vargas-Altamirano ’25, Michael Perez Palapa ’23, Anh Tran ’24, Eric Jaeger ’25, Danny Nolan ’25, Changkun Guan ’24. Middle row: Yang Hong ’23, Nghia Le ’24, Lily Fauntleroy ’23, Erin Fitch ’25, Clara Chaplin ’25. Front row: Mikey Ferguson ’25, Anh Kieu ’22, Tianzhu (Peter) Liu ’22, Clare Bassano ’23, Swarup Dhar ’22. Missing from photo: Peter Warhold ’23
Students who like challenging math problems are encouraged to participate. No advanced mathematical knowledge is required; creative problem-solving is the goal. Participation is free and on-campus. Students who are interested should contact Prof. Langford for more details!
Are you an alum who participated in the Putnam? We’d love to hear about what that experience was like for you, so reach out on LinkedIn! Want a chance to be featured in a future blog post? Respond to our question of the week here, and your answer may be chosen for a future post.
The Mathematical Economics (MECO) major lets students interested in both mathematics and economics have the best of both worlds. They get to pick a track (theoretical, computational, or statistical) to tailor their courses toward their interests.
MECO majors across multiple class years joined faculty members in Mathematics and Statistics and Economics to roast some marshmallows, make some s’mores, and form connections across class years.
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Prof. Boomer (MECO Director) and John craft a s’moreStudents gather around to make s’mores
That’s So Random! Presented by Keegan Kang, Assistant Professor of Statistics, Bucknell University
ABSTRACT: Think of a large number N. Now imagine you and your friends each picking a random number between 0 and N. Can these random numbers be used meaningfully? Surprisingly, yes! We will discuss how we can use statistics to get an approximation to computationally difficult problems, and show how such randomness can be used in web search and plagiarism detection.
Student Colloquium Talk by Professor Allison Lewis, Lafayette College
Abstract: How can mathematical modeling assist in the development of treatment protocols for cancer? Recent technological advances make it possible to collect detailed information about tumors, and yet clinical assessments of treatment responses are typically based on extremely sparse datasets. We propose a workflow for choosing an appropriate model for tumor growth and treatment response, verifying parameter identifiability, and assessing the amount of data necessary to precisely calibrate model parameters in order to make accurate predictions of tumor size at future times. Throughout this talk, we will discuss ways in which we can bridge the gap between mathematical modelers and clinical physicians to better harness the power of both worlds to meet a common goal.
Student Colloquium Talk by Professor Kenny Barrese, Bucknell University
Abstract: Rook theory is a branch of mathematics which considers how many ways you can put rooks on a board so that no two are attacking each other. Here a “rook” is the usual chess piece, but the “board” that we are placing on probably is not an eight by eight square. One way to consider the numbers you obtain is as coefficients of a polynomial, the rook polynomial. It is a key result in rook theory that, if you define the rook polynomial correctly, it always factors completely! In fact, we will see that this factorization arises not by algebraic manipulation, but by counting things in a clever way.
Student Colloquium Talk by Gloria Asare, AXA Insurance, Toronto, Canada
Abstract: Come learn what it takes to become fully certified and work as an actuary. Our presenter Gloria Asare, ACAS, MAAA will touch on various topics of interest related to the actuarial field. These include: how to become an actuary; the different types of actuaries that exist; the types of mathematical problems actuaries solve; what one’s journey to being an actuary could look like; and diversity in the actuarial profession.
Anyone interested in the actuarial profession (even if you don’t know what it is) is welcome! A mathematical background is not required to attend.
Bio: Gloria Asare is a Specialist Actuary in Pricing at AXA Insurance in Toronto, Canada. She is an Associate of the Casualty Actuarial Society (ACAS) and a member of the American Academy of Actuaries (MAAA). She has ten years of experience working as an actuary in the commercial property and casualty insurance industry supporting various lines of business. After graduating Cum Laude from the Wharton School – The University of Pennsylvania with Bachelor of Science in Economics with a Concentration in Actuarial Science, and a minor in African Studies, she started out her career in Exton, PA (about two hours away from Lewisburg) before relocating to lower Manhattan in New York City, and then to Toronto. Gloria is interested in helping people from all backgrounds get interested in and succeed in the actuarial profession, especially those from underrepresented backgrounds. Gloria is an active member of the CAS and the International Association of Black Actuaries (IABA). She has also served on the Scholarship committee of the Ontario Conference of Casualty Actuaries (OCCA – a regional affiliate of the CAS), on the Scholarship Committee of IABA, and last year founded the Toronto affiliate of IABA. She serves as mentor to a number of students and early career professionals in the field as well. Gloria is proudly African with roots in Nigeria, Kenya and Ghana. She is also a wife, and a mother to two spirited children.
Student Colloquium talk by Professor Chris Johnson, Bucknell University
Abstract: The Prussian city of Königsberg once contained four land masses connected by a series of bridges, and citizens of the city would sometimes ponder the following simple puzzle: is it possible to walk through the city crossing each bridge exactly once? In analyzing this question, Leonhard Euler noted that the most important feature was how the bridges connected the land masses to one another. Understanding “connectedness” is one part of a branch of mathematics called topology, and in this talk I will give an overview of a few particular topological ideas. Beginning with Euler’s nearly 300 year old analysis of the bridges of Königsberg puzzle and ending with some recent developments concerning the shape of a data set, we will see that topological tools can have surprising applications.
The Mathematics Department Student Colloquium Series will present talks by Bucknell Students this Thursday, November 7 at 12:00 PM in Olin 268. Moderator will be Hannah Bokma ’20 where students will discuss “What Did You do Last Summer?”
Speakers: Hannah Bokma ’20 – teaching intern, Breakthrough Houston Elise Covert ’20 – data analytics, American Institute for Research Mady Lawrence ’21 – data analytics, Highmark Health Phil Thompson ’20 – financial sales and business development intern, IHS Market
Abstract: There are many exciting summer opportunities for students in the mathematical sciences! These range from internships in financial companies to research experiences at other universities to leadership development programs. In this week’s colloquium, a panel of your peers will tell you their experiences. What did they enjoy about their experiences? When did they apply? There will also be ample time for questions and answers. These varied opportunities, as well as being terrific fun, are also immensely valuable as you begin to think about your careers after Bucknell.
Student Colloquium talk by Professor Krishnan (Ravi) Shankar, University of Oklahoma
Title: Archimedes’ Cattle Problem
Abstract: Back in antiquity Archimedes devised a mathematical problem in the form of 22 elegiac couplets and delivered them to Eratosthenes of Cyrene (as a challenge of sorts). The problem is in three parts of increasing difficulty and the solution is rather astonishing, both for its complexity and for the problem’s ability to anticipate mathematics that didn’t come about for 2000 years (Pell’s equation). We will explore the problem and its solution (which was only completely solved in 1889 by Amthor) and ask ourselves the age old question: “What did Archimedes know?”
Student Colloquium talk by Professor Kari Lock Morgan, Penn State University
Title: Understanding Statistical Significance
Abstract: You may or may not have heard of results being “statistically significant,” and you may or may not know that results qualify as statistically significant if the p-value falls below a given threshold. Regardless of whether these phrases currently hold any meaning for you, the goal of this talk will be to shed light on the actual meaning of a p-value and statistical significance (beyond just “p < 0.05”). This will be accomplished by covering a modern and computationally intensive way of computing a p-value that will be illustrated both by hands-on and online activities (so bring a laptop or tablet if you want to play along!). This simulation-based approach will be both accessible to those who have never taken any statistics, and valuable to those who have taken statistics but want a deeper understanding or a more modern approach.
