The William Lowell Putnam Mathematical Competition is the continent-wide university level mathematical competition. It is currently over fifty years old. In the last seven years, Stanford individuals have done extremely well (including many freshmen), and we should reasonably hope to be consistently among the top schools. You can see sample problems in posters around the math department.

The competition emphasizes ingenuity rather than knowledge, so freshmen are not at much of a disadvantage compared to seniors. Interest in or experience with problem-solving is a plus. This year, the Putnam competition will take place Saturday, December 1. If you are potentially interested, there will be a sign-up and introductory meeting on MONDAY OCTOBER 1, 5:15-5:45 pm, in 380-383N (in the corner of the third floor of the math department). If you can't make it, or if you have any questions, you can e-mail Ravi Vakil. The Putnam website at Stanford is at:

http://math.stanford.edu/~vakil/putnam07/

There will also be a related informal dinner-time problem-solving seminar this quarter, and we'll find out who's interested and figure out a good time at the organizational meeting. There will also be a masterclass for experienced problem-solvers. You needn't attend the seminar to take the Putnam, and vice versa. In answer to a common question: coterm students are eligible for the Putnam.