CONTACT: SCOTT HAUSER
100 Old Public Library
Iowa City IA 52242
(319) 384-0007; fax (319) 384-0024
e-mail: scott-hauser@uiowa.edu

Release: Immediate

Outstanding math students test skills May 31 at UI

IOWA CITY, Iowa -- More than 325 outstanding high school students from the Midwest will test their skills in mathematics Saturday, May 31 in a nationwide contest conducted by satellite hookup at the University of Iowa and two other sites.

The American Regions Mathematics League (ARML) Competition will begin Saturday morning in the North Gym of the UI Field House. The host for the UI site is the Connie Belin and Jacqueline N. Blank International Center for Gifted Education and Talent Development of the UI College of Education.

Teams of students from Iowa, Michigan, Missouri, Indiana, Louisiana, Minnesota, Tennessee, Texas, Wisconsin, and Chicago have been invited to compete at the UI site. They will compete simultaneously by satellite hookup with similar groups of students who have gathered at Pennsylvania State University and the University of Nevada at Las Vegas (UNLV).

A total of 90 teams from 35 states and Canadian provinces are taking part in the competition.

"ARML is a challenging and competitive test of students' abilities in mathematics," said Nicholas Colangelo, director of the Belin-Blank Center. "The students who are invited for the national contest have proven they are among the best math students in their schools and in their individual states."

The ARML has been held annually since 1975 as a way to bring outstanding students from around the country together for individual and team competitions in mathematics. Since 1992 the UI and Penn State have worked together to hold simultaneous competitions connected by state-of-the-art video technology. The UNLV site was added in 1995.

A total of 327 students and 56 coaches will be at the Field House for the UI portion of the ARML Competition.

Established in 1988, the Belin-Blank Center specializes in programming and research to meet the educational needs of exceptionally talented children and their teachers. The Center conducts an extensive roster of talent searches, precollege programs, teacher training workshops and counseling programs.

5/28/97