KNOXVILLE — Six students from Knoxville’s Farragut High School in Knoxville won spots among the top 10 finalists in the Pro2Serve Tennessee Math Contest held Thursday at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville.
One student from Knoxville Central, two from Oak Ridge High School and one from Tullahoma High School rounded out the top 10 in a day-long competition that saw 727 students from 72 Tennessee high schools participate.
The winners: Matthew Chen, Matthew Devries, Michael Hwang, Bobby Mitchell, Timothy Ragland, Anju Singhal, Farragut; Christopher Nolen, Central; Mark Whittingham, Rachel Wooten, Oak Ridge; David Eldridge, Tullahoma.
Wei-Han Bobby Liu from Cookeville High School, who won a scholarship in the contest last year, was also recognized placing as a finalist this year.
Depending on other academic requirements, the winners may also qualify for a full four-year scholarship worth $8,000 a year.
“The contest is a wonderful way to recognize some of the state’s best student mathematicians,” said Dr. John Conway, head of the UT math department. “We are also grateful to partner with Pro2Serve.”
A three-person team from Cookeville High School won the Math Bowl championship for large schools; Oak Ridge’s Team B placed second. The team from Carter High School in Knox County won for smaller schools, followed by Clarkesville Academy.
The 2001 contest was the third held by the math department and the first cosponsored by Pro2Serve.
“This is an outstanding opportunity to bring 700-plus of Tennessee’s brightest students to the university. Hopefully the majority of the scholarship winners will be UT grads and working Tennessee professionals in the future,” said Barry Goss, company founder and president. “Every participant today is a winner and contributes to making Tennessee more economically and educationally competitive.”
Pro2Serve Professional Project Services specializes in helping fast-growth, high-tech companies meet critical needs by providing solutions on a project-by-project basis.
It is recognized in Inc. magazine’s current listing of the nation’s 500 fastest-growing private companies in 2001. Ranked 78th nationally, Pro2Serve was rated Tennessee’s fastest-growing privately held company.
Founded in 1996, the Oak Ridge company has offices in Chattanooga and Knoxville; Portsmouth, Ohio; Paducah, Ky.; Herndon, Va.; Boca Raton, Fla.; Huntsville, Ala.; Los Alamos, N.M.; and Augusta, Mont.