Move over spellers. The math whizzes are here.
Florida Poly recently hosted its first Integral Bee, a friendly competition among students to determine who can best solve the math problems known as integrals. Organizers say the inaugural competition was an outstanding success and poised to become a tradition at Florida Poly.
“The students did great and had a lot of fun,” says Dr. Jared Bunn, assistant professor of mathematics. “I’m looking forward to doing it again next year.”
About 25 students participated in this first event, plus two staff and four faculty. Student Billy Brickner, took first place, followed by Jack Doziel, Matthew Desaulniers and Christopher Medrano. The student leadership of the Math Club at Florida Poly are tentatively planning to host a Derivative Bee in the Fall for students who have not learned the higher math required to solve integrals.
Integral Bees are traditions at universities like MIT, Texas A&M University and University of Florida. Florida Poly’s Inaugural Bee was planned under the Math Club’s leadership, President Michele Holzemer, Vice President Jamie Blanco and Success Coach Kris Kindle.