Math Team Near Top In National Competition

A THREE-MAN team of Dartmouth students won second prize in the recent national William Lowell Putnam Mathematical Competition, and one of the students was named among the five top-ranking individuals.

The Dartmouth team, composed of Sidney Marshall '65 of Milwaukee, Wis., Robert W. Robinson '63 of Natick, Mass., and Robert S. Strichartz '64 of New York, N.Y., placed behind a team from the California Institute of Technology. The competition was entered by 1,585 contestants from 192 colleges and universities. A team from Harvard University finished third, Queen's University of Canada fourth, and UCLA fifth.

Strichartz, who was named one of the five highest-ranking individual competitors, is eligible to receive the $3,000 William Lowell Putnam Scholarship at Harvard University. Three other Dartmouth students received honorable mention: Marshall, Robinson and George E. Cooke '64, of Rosemont, Pa.

The competition, sponsored by the Mathematical Association of America, consists of examinations, given at the local schools, principally testing the students' problem-solving abilities. Last year a Dartmouth team placed fifth among 157 teams.

The Dartmouth teams have been coached for the competition in the past by Richard E. Williamson, Assistant Professor of Mathematics, and this year by Abram S. Besicovitch, Visiting Professor of Mathematics.