InIMC2024

India International Mathematics Competition 2024 (InIMC2024) 

Important Dates (in 2024)

• Call for participants January

• Preliminary screening February

• Team selection tests March 31st - April 28th

• Team roster due April 30th

• Online training July 23rd - 25th

• Charlotte Math Camp* July 20th - 28th

* The original trip to India was canceled due to visa issues. The mini camp was extended so that the Team USA students can take the test in Charlotte.

Team Roster (video intro) 

• USA Country Coordinator: Tao Hong (UNC Charlotte)

• Team Leaders: Harold Reiter (UNC Charlotte) and Tao Hong (UNC Charlotte)

• USA3A Team: Jason Lee (NC),  Eddy Zhang (PA), Andrew Chai (NJ), Edward Shunan Li (WA)

• USA3B Team: Leo Hong (NC), Lucas Li (NC), Chris Sakaliyski (IL), Atticus Stewart (CA)

• USA2A Team: Andrew Lau (TX), Brandon Ni (MA), William Wu (IL), Aaron Wang (GA)

• USA2B Team: Daniel Sun (CA), Louis Qiu (BC), Vincent Huang (CA), Olivia Huang (NC)

(Team captains are marked in bold.)

Sponsors

• Burroughs Wellcome Fund

• Telra Institute

Team Selection Sessions

• 3/31 Harold Reiter

• 4/3 Tao Hong

• 4/6 Jason Lee

• 4/7 Jason Lee

• 4/10 Benny Wang

• 4/13 Edward Li

• 4/17 Chris Qiu

• 4/20 Tanishq Pauskar

• 4/24 John Berman

• 4/27 Evan Chang

• 4/28 Kevin Wang

Pre-camp Practice Sessions

• 7/16 Channing Yang: 2024 Mathcounts Nationals Problems

• 7/17 Kyle Liao: 2022 IIMC KeyStage 2 Problems

• 7/18 Channing Yang: 2024 Mathcounts State Problems

Math Camp at Charlotte (video highlights; Jason's journal)

7/20

• 6:00pm Reception dinner at Riceblossom

7/21

• 10:15am Tao Hong (UNC Charlotte) - Parenting profoundly gifted children

• 11:00am Felix Gotti (MIT) - Math research for the youngest enthusiasts

• 12:30pm Lunch

• 2:00pm Practice session 1 led by Harold Reiter

• 4:00pm Team photos and videos

7/22

• 10:00am Field trip at US National Whitewater Center

• 7:00pm Team dinner at Duckworth's Grill & Taphouse

7/23

• 10:00am Practice session 2 led by Harold Reiter

• 12:30pm Lunch

• 1:15pm Taoye Zhang (Penn State Scranton) - From 4-color theorem to integer flows and beyond

• 3:15pm Jon Stewart - Storytelling

• 4:00am Tao Hong (UNC Charlotte) - Scheduling problems and heuristic rules

7/24

• 10:00am Tao Hong (UNC Charlotte) - Scheduling problems and heuristic rules

• 1:00pm Lunch

• 2:15pm Leo Hong - Pursuit curve

• 2:30pm Practice session 3 led by Tao Hong

• 7:00pm Team fun night at Breakout Games

7/25

• 10:00am Practice session 4 led by Harold Reiter

• 12:00pm Lunch

• 1:00pm Jason Lee - Equidecomposition theory

• 2:15pm Leo Hong - Finite Power Monoids 

• 7:00pm Individual round mock test

• 9:30pm Team round mock test

7/26

• 11:30am Field trip at Carowinds

7/27

• 10:00am Ronak Bhatt (Telra Institute) - An unexpected journey

• 11:00am Duan Chen (UNC Charlotte) - What do applied mathematicians think when they look for a solution? 

• 12:30pm Lunch

• 1:00pm Xingjie Li (UNC Charlotte) - Numerical analysis and scientific computing

• 2:00pm Shaoyu Li (UNC Charlotte) - Introduction to statistical genetics and genomics 

• 3:00pm Kiril Sakaliyski - From IMO to finance

• 7:00pm InIMC2024 Individual Tests

• 9:30pm InIMC2024 Team Tests

7/28

• 12:00pm Farewell lunch at Riceblossom

• 2:30pm Swimming pool party

Awards

Key Stage 3

• USA3A Grand Champion Team

• USA3B 2nd Runner Up Team

• Leo Hong Gold

• Jason Lee Gold

• Andrew Chai Gold

• Eddy Zhang Gold

• Atticus Stewart Gold

• Edward Shunan Li Silver

• Chris Sakaliyski Silver

• Lucas Li Bronze

Key Stage 2

• USA2A Grand Champion Team

• Andrew Lau Gold

• Brandon Ni Gold

• Daniel Sun Gold

• William Wu Gold

• Louis Qiu Gold

• Vincent Huang Silver

• Olivia Huang Silver

• Aaron Wang Bronze

Summary

578 students from 30 countries participated in the International Mathematics Competition 2024. Two UNC Charlotte Professors Dr. Tao Hong and Dr. Harold Reiter led Team USA to two grand champion teams, ten gold medals, four silver medals, and two bronze medals.  

The competition was hosted by India from July 26th to July 31st, 2024, open to students from upper primary level (Key-Stage II, 6th grade and under) to lower secondary level (Key-Stage III, 9th grade and under). Team USA was made of 16 students coming from North Carolina (4), Pennsylvania (1), New Jersey (1), Washington (1), Illinois (2), Massachusetts (1), California (3), Texas (1), British Columbia (1), and Georgia (1). Eight of them participated in Key-Stage II, while the other eight in Key-Stage III.

For the first time in the history of USA’s participation in the International Mathematics Competition (IMC), Team USA won grand championships in both Key-Stages II and III. It is also the first time a country won both grand championships since 2012. Individually, among 304 contestants in Key-Stage III, Leo Hong tied at 4th place; Jason Lee tied at 7th place. Among 274 contestants in Key-Stage II, Brandon Ni and Andrew Lau tied at 2nd place; Daniel Sun tied at 5th place.

Based upon the scores on AMC10/12, AIME, and the students' performance on MathCounts Nationals, 25 students were invited to participate in the team selection tests. After 10 team selection sessions in April, 16 students were finally selected to form Team USA. The 16 students on the team roster plus two alternates participated in three online practice sessions led by former IMC gold medalists during the week of July 15th. They then joined the math camp at Charlotte from July 20th to July 28th, 2024. The camp included 6 math research talks, 3 industry talks, 2 student-led presentations, 4 practice sessions, and 3 field trips. Telra Institute provided the venue free of charge. The cost of the camp was covered through a grant from the Burroughs Wellcome Fund.

Comments from Team USA students and parents

• Math is so much more than just solving problems and writing proofs; it brings people together. Throughout the entire camp, I felt so many different emotions: joy, anticipation, pride, disappointment, relief. During the problem sessions and talks, we bounced off of each other's energies and got better, all of us, both individually and as a group. During the field trips, we had fun together and bonded as a team. And during the dinners and card games, we built friendships and memories that would last. We experienced improvement in so many aspects. Growth is fueled by adversity, competition, and, most importantly, being around others that can both help us and be helped by us. The spirit of the entire camp supported this idea, and rarely have I seen such opportunities, to learn and connect with others. Now, I think of the competition as a stepping stool, there to remind me of how far math has taken me, and how far I have left to go.

• We loved the camp so much! It was hands down the best math competition/camp experience that Brandon has ever had. The bond that developed between the kids (and parents!) was incredible to be a part of. It was amazing to see kids from all over the US and across different age groups become so close so quickly. It truly was a transformational experience, Brandon is already planning on taking two separate classes this coming year with friends made from this camp. 

• I have every confidence this will rank highly as one of Atticus’s most formative group experiences in math—this year’s experience was nothing short of a complete success across the board, from selection to instruction to social activities and just “letting kids be kids.” I’ve said it a few times, but I cannot express more gratitude for Dr. Reiter launching this initiative, and for the way it has developed under Dr. Hong’s leadership.  The pre-camp sessions were incredible, and Tao’s ability to command the respect of the kids and parents alike with both a firm control on how everything went down, but also a light touch (dare I say even playful) is so hard to execute as a strong leader.  Communication before and during the camp was excellent (issues with India travel that were beyond anyone’s control notwithstanding), and at no point did I ever worry about my kid being in good, safe hands. Thank you for this unparalleled experience.