Date: Thu, 26 Aug 1999 18:26:45 -0500
To: fac, grad
From: Gary Hamrick 
Subject: Putnam Exam
Cc: SGamel@mail.utexas.edu
Status: R

Dear Colleague,

Please announce to all your undergraduate classes at the level of calculus
or above that we are looking for students interested in taking the Putnam
Exam.
Many of you already know that the Putnam is a national mathematical contest
open to all undergraduate students in the US and Canada.

Students who like working difficult problems should take the Putnam. There
are monetary prizes for the top 25 contestants. Graduate schools in the
sciences and engineering are impressed by students who do well. And it is
fun.

The Exam is given on a Saturday early in December, but students who are
interested need to sign up now, because we have to send in a list of
contestants in early October.

Practice sessions will be held in RLM 7.124 at 4:00 every Wednesday
starting September 1. Students can sign up at a practice session or by
contacting me (Professor Gary Hamrick). My office is inside the Mathematics
Department Office RLM 8.100, and my office hours are TTH 10:00-12:00.

Freshmen should not be reluctant to sign up. Most of the problems do not
require very sophisticated mathematics, and freshmen are usually among our
highest scorers.

Please do not forget to notify your classes about the Putnam. Some very
good students have missed out on the Putnam in the past because their
teachers neglected to make the announcement.

Thank You,
Gary Hamrick