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Media Release –
April 20, 2022
Canadian Mathematical Society |
YOUNG MATHEMATICIANS RECOGNIZED FOR THEIR CREATIVE MATHEMATICAL SOLUTIONS AT THE 2022 CANADIAN MATHEMATICAL OLYMPIAD AND CANADIAN JUNIOR MATHEMATICAL OLYMPIAD
OTTAWA, Ontario: The Canadian Mathematical Society (CMS) is pleased to announce the results of the 54th Canadian Mathematical Olympiad (CMO), Canada’s premier advanced mathematics competition. The competition was written by nearly 90 students from close to 50 different schools on March 10, 2022.
The CMO is an invitation-based competition and this year’s students were invited to participate in the CMO based on the results of the Canadian Open Mathematics Challenge (COMC), which took place in October 2021; and the the Canadian Mathematical Olympiad Qualifying Repêchage (CMOQR), which took place in February 2022.
Canadian Mathematical Olympiad Committee Chair, Professor Pawel Pralat, extended his most sincere congratulations to the winners. He stated:
“Let me stress the fact that solving difficult Olympiad problems is a challenge for everyone, including most math professors. This year’s competition was no different from other years in that it included challenging problems. The students who succeeded in the CMO have accomplished something quite remarkable. The participants showed impressive mathematical ability and intuition. Congratulations!”
Zixiang Zhou of London Central Secondary School is the 2022 CMO Champion, having achieved a perfect score of 35/35. In recognition of his remarkable achievement, he will receive a cash prize and his name will be added to the CMO Championship Cup. The cup is a full-sized trophy that permanently commemorates the champion and is normally loaned to their school to display for one year.
Zixiang is a grade twelve student from London, Ontario. He wrote the COMC last fall and tied for the overall Championship in that competition. When asked about the Canadian Mathematical Olympiad, Zixiang shared:
“In this year’s CMO, I particularly liked problems 4 and 5. Both seemed unapproachable at first but turned out to have short and beautiful elementary solutions. I was thrilled when I found a solution to problem 5 that used only basic geometric techniques in the last few minutes of the contest.”
Zixiang also told the CMS that he became interested in mathematics in Elementary School. He pursued this interest by studying from books, online resources, and a program called Math Challenge at Western University. He noted that he especially enjoys participating in contests and competitions because of the type of problems that they showcase. Zixiang described such problems as elegant and intriguing, and indicated that they inspire him to continue his exploration of mathematics.
The Canadian Mathematical Society extends its warmest congratulations to Zixiang on his incredible performance at this year’s CMO.
The CMS also wishes to congratulate the following prize-winners for their achievement:
Silver
Warren Bei (Homeschool, Vancouver, BC)
Bronze
Alec Le Helloco (Lycée Blaise Pascal, Orsay, France)
Honourable Mention
Kaixin Wang (Magee Secondary, Vancouver, BC)
Evan Lu (Vincent Massey Secondary, Windsor, ON)
Kevin Min (Cupertino High, Cupertino, CA, USA)
Cordelia Hu (Farragut High, Knoxville, TN, USA)
Jason Zhang (Canton High, Canton, MI, USA)
All eight students will be awarded a cash prize, of which the amount will vary depending on their individual results. The prizes are generously funded by CMS donors, sponsors, and partners.
The 2022 CMO was a great success, and the Canadian Mathematical Society would like to thank all who participated and congratulate them on being selected to take part in this important mathematical event.
Matthew Brennan Prize for Best Solution
The Matthew Brennan Prize for Best Solution honours International Mathematical Olympiad (IMO) leader and former Olympian, Matthew Brennan, whose life was lost unexpectedly and before his time. The prize was created by the CMS in partnership with Matthew’s parents and awards 500 dollars to the participant with the best solution in the CMO.
The 2022 Matthew Brennan Prize will be awarded to Marvin Mao for his solution to Problem 3 in the CMO. When asked about Marvin’s solution, CMO Chair James Rickards (CU Boulder) explained:
“Problem 3 asked students to prove an upper and lower bound involving a game, and he had a clever solution to the upper bound. Marvin changed the rules to make the game easier to analyze and showed that the new game still satisfies the desired upper bound. The idea to change the game was present in a few papers, but Marvin’s version was the most elegant. Congratulations!”
The CMS applauds Marvin for his creative solution to the problem.
2022 Canadian Junior Mathematical Olympiad (CJMO)
This year, the Canadian Mathematical Society held the 3rd annual Canadian Junior Mathematical Olympiad (CJMO), which is designed for younger students who do not write the CMO. Twenty-one students in grades 8 to 10, from many different schools, wrote the CJMO on March 10, 2022. The junior competition is a rewarding experience which prepares participants for future participation in the CMO.
The winner of the 2022 CJMO is Christopher Li, who is an eighth grade student at TTmath School and William Berczy Public School in Markham, ON.
Honourable Mention was given to the following four students:
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- Joshua Wang (Brookfield Central High, Brookfield, USA)
- Daniel Ye (William Lyon Mackenzie CI, Toronto, ON)
- Emily Ma (Mark Garneau CI, Toronto, ON)
- Carol Wu (Port Moody Secondary, Port Moody, BC)
All five students will receive a cash prize, of which the amount will vary depending on their individual results. The prizes are generously funded by CMS donors, sponsors, and partners.
The Canadian Mathematical Society congratulates all junior students and wishes them success in future competitions.
Click here to view a complete list of results as well as the problems and solutions presented this year.
*The Society would like to graciously acknowledge the support of its sponsors as well as other corporate, government, and academic partners.
About the Canadian Mathematical Olympiad
The Canadian Mathematical Olympiad (CMO) is Canada’s premier national advanced mathematics competition. Candidates require an invitation from the Canadian Mathematical Society to participate.
About the Matthew Brennan Prize for Best Solution
The Matthew Brennan Prize for Best Solution honours International Mathematical Olympiad (IMO) leader and former Olympian, Matthew Brennan, whose life was lost unexpectedly and before his time. The prize was created by the CMS in partnership with Matthew’s parents and awards 500 dollars to the participant with the best solution in the CMO.
Matt was born in Toronto and attended Upper Canada College from Grades one through twelve. In 2012, he started at the MIT, where he obtained a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science and in Mathematics in 2016, and a Master of Science in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science in 2018. His Master’s thesis, entitled “Reducibility and Computational Lower Bounds for Problems with Planted Sparse Structure”, was awarded the Ernst A. Guillemin Award for Best Thesis in Electrical Engineering. At the time of his death, Matt was in the final year of his Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at MIT and had been awarded a Miller Fellowship at UC Berkeley starting in the fall of 2021. Matt’s main research interests were the theoretical aspects of machine learning and probability theory.
Matt represented Canada twice at the International Mathematical Olympiad, earning a bronze medal in 2011 and a gold medal in 2012. He returned to the IMO as deputy leader observer in 2014 and 2017, and was the leader in 2019. Matt was passionate about Olympiad math, and had served on the Canadian Mathematical Olympiad committee since 2014. He also contributed extensively to problem creation and selection. In addition to having had two problems included on to the IMO shortlist, in any average year three of the five CMO problems were proposed by Matt. His dream in life was that after a long academic career, he would do contest problems all day as a professor emeritus.
When Matt was not doing research or Olympiad problems, he was likely playing basketball. In addition to spending hours and hours practicing and playing pick-up, he played on three different intramural teams. Even at the IMO training camps, he was constantly itching to play.
About the Canadian Junior Mathematical Olympiad
The Canadian Junior Mathematical Olympiad (CJMO) is an advanced mathematics competition created for students up to grade 10. It is invitational and takes place at the same time as the CMO.
About the Canadian Mathematical Society
The Canadian Mathematical Society (CMS) is the main national organization whose goal is to promote and advance the discovery, learning and application of mathematics. The Society’s activities cover the whole spectrum of mathematics including meetings, research publications, and the promotion of excellence in mathematics competitions that recognize outstanding student achievements.
For more information, please contact:
| Pawel Pralat (Ryerson) Chair, Canadian Mathematical Olympiad Committee Canadian Mathematical Society chair-cmoc@cms.math.ca |
or | James Rickards (CU Boulder) Chair, International Mathematical Olympiad Committee Canadian Mathematical Society chair-imoc@cms.math.ca |
