Middlesex College Students Ace Math Competition
The Middlesex College mathematics team was the top performing school in the Mid-Atlantic Region of the 2022-2023 American Mathematical Association of Two-Year Colleges (AMATYC) Student Math League competition.
Ismaeel Malek and Ezra Goldfarb
Additionally, three of the top five students in the Mid-Atlantic Region were Middlesex College students—Ezra Goldfarb, a chemistry major; Ismaeel Malek, a dual enrollment student and Mouner Wissa, a computer science major.
Goldfarb, a chemistry major, was also invited to participate in an internship with the U.S. Department of Energy this past spring in which he conducted research in electrochemistry at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. He also conducted electrochemistry research at a lab in Bar-Ilan University in Israel. He will start Rutgers this fall.
“The AMATYC competition allowed me to explore and enjoy an interest outside of my field. I am very thankful for the College and the professors involved for arranging this event and allowing me to pursue my love for math,” said Goldfarb.
The AMATYC Student Math League comprises two rounds. Round 1 is held during the fall semester and round 2 during the spring semester. Students compete both as individuals and as a member of a team representing their school. A school is free to have any number of students participate and take the test but only the top 5 in the round become the school’s official team for that round. Students individually take a one hour 20 question multiple choice exam which contains some nonstandard challenging questions. Students get to test their problem-solving skills and see how they compare to others from around the nation. Faculty are allowed to hold practice sessions and use old competition questions to help students prepare for the test.
Middlesex College’s total score of 129 was competitive in all regions, excluding the West.
Jennifer Applebee, professor of mathematics at Middlesex College, described the College’s stellar results as “uplifting” and commended all participating students.
“The students seemed to truly enjoy the academic challenge presented by the competition, and winning is always fun. They met with Iryna Pavlyuk and me to practice (even requesting extra practice sessions/materials) and supported each other during those sessions. Other students even popped into the rooms to see what the fun was all about.”
For more information about the AMATYC, visit amatyc.org.
