The Berkeley Math Circle works with over 50 students throughout each year (since 1998), with weekly lecture attendance averaging 25 students. The program is partially supported through MSRI, UC Berkeley, and parents' donations, and meets on Tuesday evenings on the UC Berkeley campus.

Math circles originated in Hungary more than a century ago. They soon spread over Eastern Europe and Asia, and since then have produced many of the great scientists from those parts of the world, in mathematics and in other disciplines. The math circles also led eventually to the start of many national and international math contests, including the International Mathematical Olympiad (IMO) in 1959 in Romania. It is widely believed that it is the presence of these circles that has enabled the youth of countries such as Russia, Bulgaria and Romania on the average to outperform the United States at the IMO.

Given the success of math circles in Russia and Eastern Europe, it is surprising that it has taken so long for the United States to develop similar programs. The Berkeley Math Circle was founded in 1998 to begin to correct this situation. The San Francisco Bay Area and Berkeley in particular were natural choices for the site of a math circle, both because of the large number of talented high school students in the area, and because of the proximity of world-class institutions such as UC Berkeley from which experienced lecturers could be drawn.

Each year the majority of the Berkeley Math Circle students participate in the Bay Area Math Olympiad. Although it has existed for nine years, the Berkeley Math Circle and the Bay Area Mathematical Olympiad have become known to thousands of people in San Francisco Bay Area and across the country, both through word-of-mouth and in the media. The program's success has been phenomenal: for instance, 250 students from approximately 45 schools (35% of them women) participated in the last round of the BAMO exams 1999-2006. Thus, BAMO and BMC have good visibility with high schools and to the outside world by virtue of media coverage and previous students' positive experiences. It frequently receives request from schools and universities across the U.S. for help in setting up their own circles. Circles have been started in San Jose and Stanford. Several dozen mathematics teachers and researchers will interact with students in the math circles and BAMO this year.>

The three Berkeley Math Circle students contributed to the USA's second-place finish among over 80 countries at the International Mathematics Olympiad in 2001. In 2002, students from the Berkeley Math Circle and BAMO continued to do exceptionally well in mathematics competitions. Over the years, a number of Berkeley Math Circle students were among the top twelve winners of the USA Math Olympiad, and one was among the five students in the US with a perfect score: Inna Zakharevich (Henry Gunn High School, Palo Alto, Currently a student at Harvard University). Several other Circle students qualified for the summer training program of the US team several years in a row. Evan O'Dorney, only in 8th grade, qualified among the top 24 students for the training of the USA Math Team in Summer 2007. He further won the Grand Prize at BAMO 2007 with a perfect score. Additionally, he has been a three-time finalist and 2007 Champion at the Scripps National Spelling Bee in Washington D.C.

Among other famous alumni of BMC and BAMO, it is worth mentioning Maxim Maydanskiy who tied for first place with Gabriel Carroll at BAMO 2001. Maxim was admitted to UC Berkeley, and upon recommendation from the BMC circle coordinator, Dr. Stankova, his Circle and Olympiad activities played a major role in awarding him the Regent's scholarship, the most prestigious UC Berkeley scholarship for entering undergraduates. While at UC Berkeley, he also attended the Research Experience for Undergraduates Program at Duluth, Minnesota, and is currently a Ph.D. student in Mathematics at MIT. Maxim shared some thoughts on his experience in BMC and BAMO:

	“The impact of the program on my personal mathematical development is hard to overestimate. It was, and continues to be, the single most vibrant source of mathematical activity for high school students in the Bay Area. The lectures introduced me to many areas of mathematics, a number of which came up again in my later studies. The opportunity to meet a variety of people from fellow students to professors, the college campus setting, the overall atmosphere – all of that made the Math Circle unique. The program helped me to shape my plans for the undergraduate education. It was an experience no other sources could provide.”
	“I think the program has a great effect on mathematical youth in the Bay Area. It provides an interaction media and stimulating environment, both encouraging further involvement from students already interested in mathematics and promising mathematics to a wider audience. It is a great project that should be continued.”

The most prestigious world-wide university level mathematics olympiad is the Putnam Competition. Recent BAMO and BMC team members on the UC Berkeley Team contributed to the 4th place of UC Berkeley nationwide at the Putnam Competition. They are Austin Shapiro, Maxim Maydanskiy and Boris Bukh. The winning teams placing first, second and third nationwide, from Harvard, Duke and Princeton, also were heavily populated by former BMC and BAMO participants. It is worth mentioning again that Gabriel Carroll won the Putnam four times, once while in High School.