Carnegie Mellon's School of Computer Science Fields Two Teams In Regionals of ACM International Collegiate Programming Contest

Byron SpiceFriday, November 10, 2006

Carnegie Mellon's School of Computer Science is fielding two teams at tomorrow's regional competitions in the 31st ACM International Collegiate Programming Contest. The teams of three students each will pit their skills against others in the east central division at the University of Cincinnati.

The competition calls for the students to use their programming skills to solve complex, real-world problems within a grueling five-hour deadline.

This year's regionals are expected to include more than 6,000 university teams from 84 countries on six continents all vying for a spot at the Contest's World Finals March 12 to 16 next year in Tokyo, Japan.

Students representing Carnegie Mellon include juniors Jeffrey Schroder and Andrew Warshaver with freshman Daegun Won on one team, and sophomores Young Sub Bae and Nathaniel Bauernfeind with freshman Kee Tee Lawrence Tan on the other.

"Our students are outstanding," says coach and den mother Greg Kesden, a lecturer in the Computer Science Department. "I am particularly impressed by the new talent on the team this year - they are very, very strong for first timers. And, we are lucky to have seasoned veterans, prior World Champion contenders returning."

Kesden noted that Schroder and Warshaver are experienced contestants. They competed in regionals during the last two years - and made it to the World Finals in 2005. The other contestants are "first timers".

Considering the competition, Kesden is cautious about making prognostications. "The competition will be very intense - and our students will do very well, as will the students on all of the top teams," he says. "Our chances are very good. But, like a really, really good game at any major sporting event - anything can happen in the end."The 31st ACM International Collegiate Programming Contest (ICPC) is sponsored by IBM. For more information and regional scores check the web site: www.acmicpc.com.

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Byron Spice | 412-268-9068 | bspice@cs.cmu.edu