Math Scholarships & Awards

Named Scholarships for Excellence in Mathematics

Edward P. Daniels Scholarship

Awarded to a senior Math student with a solid academic record and who demonstrates leadership and integrity. Supported by an endowment established by Robert and Marilyn Lyon in honor of Marylin's father, Edward.

Gilbert A. and Jane B. Palmer Scholarship

Awarded to a junior or senior mathematics major at SUNY Geneseo who has high academics achievement, and plans to pursue a graduate program in mathematics or mathematics education. Preference will be given to students who intend to teach mathematics and who demonstrate financial need. This scholarship is supported through an endowment established by Dr. Gilbert A. Palmer, Associate Professor Emeritus, in memory of his wife Jane Barton Palmer, Class of 1961.

Mr. & Mrs. Kadambi Gopalachar Scholarship

Awarded to an outstanding and worthy student in Math. Supported by an endowment established in honor of her parents by Dr. Srinivasa Leelamma.

V. Ambujamma Memorial Scholarship

Awarded to an outstanding and worthy undergraduate student in Mathematics. Supported by an endowment established by Dr. V. Lakshmikantham in memory of his mother.

M.T. Sharman Memorial Scholarship

Awarded to an outstanding and worthy student in Math. Supported by Dr. Srinivasa Leelamma

Dr. William Small Memorial Scholarship

Awarded to an academically outstanding undergraduate who best exemplifies through his/her activities the promotion of a diverse campus community. It is awarded on a rotating basis to a major in Mathematics, Philosophy, or Music by the faculty in those departments. Supported by an endowment established in memory of Dr. William Small by Dr. Srinivasa Leelamma and Dr. V. Lakshmikanthan.

Trasher/Snow Mathematics Award

Awarded to an outstanding sophomore/junior Mathematics majors determined by Math GPA, overall GPA, service to the Math Department and leadership in Math Department student activities. Supported annually by Donald and Virginia Trasher.

How the Named Scholarships are awarded:

Each spring, the department chair appoints an Ad Hoc Scholarship Committee
The Committee:
1. Gathers data (year, math GPA, general GPA, activities)
2. Makes its recommendations to the entire department and solicits additional faculty input
The committee makes a final recommendation to the department for a vote
The information is forwarded to the Geneseo Foundation which notifies the students

Pi Mu Epsilon

In 1989 the Alpha Delta Chapter of Pi Mu Epsilon (PME) was established at Geneseo. Each year we induct our best students into this prestigious national honor society. Pi Mu Epsilon was founded on May 25, 1914 at Syracuse University. The purpose of Pi Mu Epsilon is the promotion of scholarly activity in mathematics among the students in academic institutions and among staffs of qualified non-academic institutions.

Each spring, the Pi Mu Epsilon coordinator reviews the transcripts of current mathematics majors with sophomore standing, or above. Candidates must meet both internal standards of excellence and the nationally set criteria to be inducted.

The list of qualifications/standards, as well as a list of recent inductees, can be found here.

Department Awards

Memberships

The Mathematics Department acknowledges its excellent students with memberships in its professional organizations.

AMS membership is awarded to the a student who aspires to a career in mathematical research.
MAA membership is awarded to a student who aspires to a career in higher education.
SIAM and NCTM is awarded when deemed appropriate.

The awards are granted through nominations from the Ad Hoc Scholarship Committee which are submitted to the department for discussion and a vote.

Senior Awards

Each spring, the department acknowledges its outstanding graduating seniors with several distinct awards. Each award --a certificate and gift-- is presented at the annual senior dinner. The number and category of awards may vary from year to year just as graduating classes differ from year to year.

Graduation Awards

Excellence in Mathematics: Awarded to a student of outstanding achievement in pure mathematics.
Excellence in Applied Mathematics: Awarded to an outstanding student with combined interests in mathematics and an applied field.
Excellence in Mathematics Education: Awarded to a student with outstanding achievement both in mathematics and in mathematics education.

How the awards are made:

Each spring, the Ad Hoc Scholarship Committee reviews the transcripts of all graduating seniors and solicits information from the faculty as to the students' excellence in mathematical activities that do not appear on the transcript, such as participation in poster sessions, research, etc.. The committee recommends the number and type of awards, together with a list of candidates to the department for a vote.

Math Competition Awards

Pi Mu Epsilon Mathematics Competition Prize

To promote scholarly work in mathematics among our students, the Alpha Delta Chapter of Pi Mu Epsilon offers a prize for our top scoring students on the annual William Lowell Putnam mathematics competition in the fall and other math competitions (University of Rochester Math Olympiad, SUNYMathics, etc.)

First Place PME Putnam Prize: $75 award to the top scoring SUNY Geneseo student on the annual William Lowell Putnam mathematics competition. To be eligible the individual must receive a positive score. If no student is eligible, the award may be given for top performance in later mathematics competitions. In the event of a tie for first place, then those students will split the total first-second place prize amount of $125.
Second Place PME Putnam Prize: $50 to the second highest scoring SUNY Geneseo student on the annual William Lowell Putnam mathematics competition. To be eligible the individual must receive a positive score. If no student is eligible, the award may be given for top performance in later mathematics competitions. In the event of a tie for second place, then those students will split the total second place prize amount of $50.
First Place PME Mathematics Competition Prize: $75 award to the top scoring SUNY Geneseo student in other math competitions, such as the University of Rochester Math Olympiad or SUNYMathics. To be eligible the individual must receive a positive score. In the event of a tie for first place, then those students will split the prize amount of $75.

Putnam Prize

2024 Winners: First Place Tie - Maxwell Bentz (10 points), Ian Faerman (10 points)
2020 Winners: First Place - Matthew Ficarra (19 points), Second Place - Abraham Hauser (2 points)
2019 Winners: First Place - Matthew Ficarra (11 points), Second Place Tie - Abraham Hauser, Ian Parks (8 points)
2018 Winners: First Place - Matthew Ficarra, Second Place - Abraham Hauser
2017 Winners: First Place - Marcus Converse, Second Place Tie - Dan Hayes, Tess Collins
2016 Winners: First Place - Cameron Ziegler, Second Place - Tess Collins
2015 Winners: First Place - Marcus Elia, Second Place Tie - McKinley Gray and Cameron Ziegler
2014 Winners: First Place - Jack Jenkins (12 points) , Second Place Tie (10 points) - Doug Knowles and Marcus Elia
2013 Winners: First Place - Michael Pilosov (10 points - ranked 1324 out of 4113), Second Place - Doug Knowles (1 point - ranked 2018.5 out of 4113)
2012 Winners: First Place - Marcus Elia
2011 Winners: First Place - Samuel Cohn (9 points - ranked 885 out of 4440), Second Place Tie - Wilson Cheung, Jian Zeng (3 points - ranked 1090.5 out of 4440)
2010 Winners: First Place - Wanting Shao (29 points - ranked 593.5 out of 4296), Second Place - Jeff Singer (19 points - ranked 1012 out of 4296)
2009 Winners: First Place - Wanting Shao (20 points - ranked 707 out of 4036), Second Place - Brendan Murphy (10 points - ranked 1461 out of 4036)

UR Olympiad Prize

2019 Winners: First Place - Matthew Ficarra
2018 Winners: N/A
2017 Winners: First Place - Aidan Murphy
2016 Winners: First Place - McKinley Gray
2015 Winners: First Place - Yoon-jae Park
2014 Winners: First Place - Michael Pilosov, Second Place Tie- Doug Knowles, Marcus Elia, Katherine Gullo

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Department of Mathematics