CSU, Chico Student Solves “Good Will Hunting” Problem
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 6, 2000
Casey Huff
530-898-4139
CSU, Chico Student Solves “Good Will Hunting” Problem
Mathematics and physics major Jon Nay solved this yearÕs baffling topology question posed by the Department of Mathematics and Statistics, winning a $100 gift certificate to the Associated Students Bookstore, a video voucher to see the movie “Good Will Hunting” and an invitation to the seventh annual Chico Topology Conference held June 1-3 on the CSU, Chico campus.
In preparation for the annual topology conference, California State University, ChicoÕs Department of Mathematics and Statistics held a contest challenging anyone to solve a complex topology problem. Topology is the mathematical study of the subsets of sets.
Two years ago, the department started a contest similar to one in the movie “Good Will Hunting.” In the movie, actor Matt Damon (Will Hunting) solves a math problem left on a blackboard that stumps students at MIT. The CSU, Chico problem is written on a blackboard near the Holt Hall math department office.
Math professor Eldon Vought, who initiated the contest and organizes the topology conference, said that the “Good Will Hunting” problem is actually a series of challenging problems. The winner of the contest is the one who develops the most subsets. In the case of a tie, the person who turns in the solution first wins. Nay said that he solved the problem the first day and then came up with 13 subsets. He turned in his answer one week after the problem was posted.
The conference featured papers delivered by mathematicians and one-hour talks by Harold Bell, Krystyna Kuperberg, Sergio Macias and Sam Nadler. Between 40 and 45 people attended this yearÕs conference. Vought first organized the conference in 1981.
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