Elizabeth Lowell Popular Books

Elizabeth Lowell Biography & Facts

The William Lowell Putnam Mathematical Competition, often abbreviated to Putnam Competition, is an annual mathematics competition for undergraduate college students enrolled at institutions of higher learning in the United States and Canada (regardless of the students' nationalities). It awards a scholarship and cash prizes ranging from $250 to $2,500 for the top students and $5,000 to $25,000 for the top schools, plus one of the top five individual scorers (designated as Putnam Fellows) is awarded a scholarship of up to $12,000 plus tuition at Harvard University (Putnam Fellow Prize Fellowship), the top 100 individual scorers have their names mentioned in the American Mathematical Monthly (alphabetically ordered within rank), and the names and addresses of the top 500 contestants are mailed to all participating institutions. It is widely considered to be the most prestigious university-level mathematics competition in the world, and its difficulty is such that the median score is often zero (out of 120) despite being primarily attempted by students specializing in mathematics.The competition was founded in 1927 by Elizabeth Lowell Putnam in memory of her husband William Lowell Putnam, who was an advocate of intercollegiate intellectual competition. The competition has been offered annually since 1938 and is administered by the Mathematical Association of America. Competition layout The Putnam competition takes place on the first Saturday in December, and consists of two three-hour sittings separated by a lunch break. The competition is supervised by faculty members at the participating schools. Each one consists of twelve challenging problems. The problems cover a range of advanced material in undergraduate mathematics, including concepts from group theory, set theory, graph theory, lattice theory, and number theory.Each of the twelve questions is worth 10 points, and the most frequent scores above zero are 10 points for a complete solution, 9 points for a nearly complete solution, and 1 point for the beginnings of a solution. In earlier years, the twelve questions were worth one point each, with no partial credit given. The competition is considered to be very difficult: it is typically attempted by students specializing in mathematics, but the median score is usually zero or one point out of 120 possible, and there have been only five perfect scores as of 2021. In 2003, of the 3,615 students competing, 1,024 (28%) scored 10 or more points, and 42 points was sufficient to make the top percentile. At a participating college, any student who wishes to take part in the competition may (limited by the number of spots a school receives); but until 2019 the school's official team consisted of three individuals whom it designated in advance. Until 2019, a team's score was the sum of the ranks of its three team members, with the lowest cumulative rank winning. It was entirely possible, even commonplace at some institutions, for the eventual results to show that the "wrong" team was picked—i.e. that some students not on the official team outscored an official team member. For example, in 2010, MIT had two of the top five scorers in the competition and seven of the top 24, while Caltech had just one student in the top five and only four in the top 24; yet Caltech took first place among teams while MIT took second. In 2019 the rules of the competition changed, with a school's team consisting of its top three scorers, and team ranks determined by comparing the sums of the scores of the team members. Awards The top five teams win $25,000, $20,000, $15,000, $10,000, and $5,000, in that order, with team members receiving $1,000, $800, $600, $400, and $200, respectively. The top five individual scorers are named Putnam Fellows and awarded $2,500. The school with the first-place team receives an award of $25,000. Each first-place team member, as well as the winner of the Elizabeth Lowell Putnam Prize, receives $1,000. Sixth through 15th place individuals receive $1,000 and the next ten receive $250. The names of the top 100 students are published in the American Mathematical Monthly, and competition results are published in early April of the year following the competition.Many Putnam Fellows have gone on to become distinguished researchers in mathematics and other fields, including three Fields Medalists—John Milnor (also an Abel Prize laureate), David Mumford, and Daniel Quillen—and two Nobel laureates in physics—Richard Feynman and Kenneth Wilson. Winners Top-scoring teams Teams ranked by historical performance Below is a table of teams by the number of appearances in the top five and number of titles. The following table lists Teams finishing in Top Five (as of 2023 competition): For a recent analysis, the following table lists teams that finished in the top five since 2000 (as of 2023 competition): The following table lists Teams with First place finishes (as of 2023 competition): Putnam Fellows Since the first competition, the top five (or six, in case of a tie) scorers in the competition have been named Putnam Fellows. Within the top five, Putnam Fellows are not ranked. Students are not allowed to participate in the Putnam Competition more than four times. For example, if a high school senior chooses to officially participate, he/she effectively chooses to forfeit one of his/her years of eligibility in college (see Gabriel Carroll). This makes it even more of a remarkable feat to become a Putnam Fellow four times. In the history of the Competition, only eight students have been Putnam Fellows four times, with twenty-five others winning the award three times. The following table lists these students: The following table lists all Putnam fellows from 1938 to present, with the years they placed in the top five. Ioana Dumitriu was the first woman to become a Putnam Fellow, in 1996. Elizabeth Lowell Putnam Award winners Since 1992, the Elizabeth Lowell Putnam Award has been available to be awarded to a female participant with a high score, with three awards being made for the first time in 2019. The year(s) in which they were Fellows are in bold. Ioana Dumitriu was the first woman to become a Putnam Fellow, in 1996. See also List of mathematics awardsReferences External links William Lowell Putnam Mathematical Competition results William Lowell Putnam Competition problems, solutions, and results archive Archive of Problems 1938–2003 Searchable data base for information about careers of Putnam Fellows A comprehensive history of the Putnam competition An electronic update of Gallian's 2004 paper (PDF). Discover the Elizabeth Lowell popular books. Find the top 100 most popular Elizabeth Lowell books.

Best Seller Elizabeth Lowell Books of 2024

  • Always Time to Die synopsis, comments

    Always Time to Die

    Elizabeth Lowell

    The sensational New York Times bestselling author of The Color of Death is back with an exhilarating novel of danger, romance, and suspenseCarolina MayCarly to her friendsnever kne...

  • The FSG Poetry Anthology synopsis, comments

    The FSG Poetry Anthology

    Jonathan Galassi & Robyn Creswell

    To honor FSG's 75th anniversary, here is a unique anthology celebrating the riches and variety of its poetry listpast, present, and futurePoetry has been at the heart of Farrar, St...

  • The 100 Best Romance Novels synopsis, comments

    The 100 Best Romance Novels

    Jennifer Lawler & Crimson Romance Editors

    "My feelings will not be repressed. You must allow me to tell you how ardently I admire and love you." Mr. Darcy, Pride and PrejudiceThe taboo affair of Jane and Mr. Rochester. The...

  • Whirlpool synopsis, comments

    Whirlpool

    Elizabeth Lowell

    When an exquisitely crafted, authentic imperial Faberge egg mysteriously shows up at Laurel Swann's home studio, she knows it can only be from one personher father, who has drifted...

  • Only His synopsis, comments

    Only His

    Elizabeth Lowell

    Escaping the ravages of the Civil War, a gently reared lady must leave behind everything she knows and trust her life and her future to a dangerous gunfighter with a passion for v...

  • Words in Air synopsis, comments

    Words in Air

    Elizabeth Bishop & Robert Lowell

    Robert Lowell once remarked in a letter to Elizabeth Bishop that "you ha[ve] always been my favorite poet and favorite friend." The feeling was mutual. Bishop said that conversatio...

  • Death Is Forever synopsis, comments

    Death Is Forever

    Elizabeth Lowell

    Somewhere in the Australian outback, on land left to her by a late relative she never met, American photographer Erin Windsor believes a diamond mine might be waiting with the prom...

  • Promise Not to Tell synopsis, comments

    Promise Not to Tell

    Jayne Ann Krentz

    A broken promise reveals a terrifying legacy in this electrifying New York Times bestseller from the author of Untouchable.Seattle gallery owner Virginia Troy has spent years ...

  • Only Love synopsis, comments

    Only Love

    Elizabeth Lowell

    Cast adrift during the War Between the States, Shannon Conner grew to womanhood in a lonely cabin high in the Colorado Rockies. Though stubborn and courageous, Shannon is illprepar...

  • Winter Fire synopsis, comments

    Winter Fire

    Elizabeth Lowell

    Orphaned at thirteen, a mailorder bride at fourteen, widowed at sixteen, Sarah Kennedy has learned to depend upon no one but herselfreserving all her love for her younger brother C...

  • Come Back in September synopsis, comments

    Come Back in September

    Darryl Pinckney

    Critic and writer Darryl Pinckney recalls his friendship and apprenticeship with Elizabeth Hardwick and Barbara Epstein and the introduction they offered him to the New York litera...

  • The Dolphin Letters, 1970-1979 synopsis, comments

    The Dolphin Letters, 1970-1979

    Elizabeth Hardwick, Robert Lowell & Saskia Hamilton

    The correspondence between one of the most famous couples of twentiethcentury literatureThe Dolphin Letters offers an unprecedented portrait of Robert Lowell and Elizabeth Hardwick...

  • Gone synopsis, comments

    Gone

    Chelsea Cain

    From the author of the critically acclaimed Archie Sheridan and Gretchen Lowell thrillers, here is a heartstopping ride that Cheryl Strayed (author of #1 New York Times bestseller ...

  • Robert Lowell, Setting the River on Fire synopsis, comments

    Robert Lowell, Setting the River on Fire

    Kay Redfield Jamison

    PULITZER PRIZE FINALIST  In this magisterial study of the relationship between illness and art, the bestselling author of An Unquiet Mind, Kay Redfield Jamison, brings an...

  • Beautiful Dreamer synopsis, comments

    Beautiful Dreamer

    Elizabeth Lowell

    Nevada's rugged, majestic beauty is a balm for the aches of Hope Gardener's heart. But the ranch she loves is dying of thirst, thanks to the worst drought the area has ever seen, H...

  • Love Unknown synopsis, comments

    Love Unknown

    Thomas Travisano

    An illuminating new biography of one of the greatest American poets of the twentieth century, Elizabeth Bishop"Love Unknown points movingly to the many relationships that moor...