Students Participated in Programming Contest

Two teams of Westminster College students participated in the 2011 Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) East Central North America Programming Contest Oct. 21-22 at Youngstown State University.

The teams were under the direction of Dr. John Bonomo, Westminster associate professor of computer science, who served as a problem contributor and head judge. 

Team 1 included:

• Dylan Karas, a senior computer science major, is a son of Charles and Josie Karas of Aliquippa and a graduate of Hopewell High School.
• Timothy Matyas, a senior computer science major, is a son of Timothy and Robin Matyas of Houston and a graduate of Chartiers-Houston High School.

Team 2 members were:

• Peter Barber, a sophomore computer science major, is a son of Robert and Lisa Barber of New Castle and a graduate of Mohawk Area High School.
• Jenna Huston, a junior computer science and mathematics major, is a daughter of Robert and Robin Huston of Beaver Falls and a graduate of Blackhawk High School.
• Ryen Wilkins, a junior computer science major, is a son of Barbara Natale and Victor Wilkins of New Castle and a graduate of Mohawk Area High School.

Contestants were given a set of nine programming problems and five hours to solve as many as possible.  Points were awarded based on the number of problems solved correctly, as well as the speed with which solutions were obtained.

Both Westminster teams solved one problem to finish 77th and 85th.  Winning teams were from Waterloo University, Carnegie Mellon University, and the University of Toronto.

Youngstown State was one of four sites where the IBM-sponsored contest was held.  Other locations were: Grand Valley State University (Michigan), the University of Cincinnati, and the University of Windsor (Ontario).  The contest drew students from colleges and universities throughout Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan, eastern Ontario, and Indiana.  This year's contest hosted 122 teams.

The contest provides college students with opportunities to interact with students from other universities, and to sharpen and demonstrate their problem-solving, programming, and teamwork skills.

Contact Bonomo at (724) 946-7287 or email for more information.

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