The University of Tennessee at Martin Department of Computer Science recently hosted a local site competition of the Association for Computing Machinery International Collegiate Programming Contest. This is the second year UT Martin has been a host site for the event.

UT Martin was among eight other host sites in the mid-central region. Nine teams from Austin Peay State University, Murray State University, UT Martin and the University of Memphis competed in the five-hour contest with more than 100 teams competing simultaneously at other locations.

UT Martin students Matthew Austin, of Jackson; Meredith Brown, of Trezevant; and Jay Downing, of Hendersonville, took third place at the local event and entered the site’s first correct submission at the seven-minute mark. Additional competitors from UT Martin included Cole Davis, of Kenton; Lucian Freeze, of Hornbeak; Trever Hall, of Bruceton; Fate Hardin, of Brentwood; Mel Howard, of Martin; and Brett Whitson, of Union City.

“Our teams trained harder than ever this year, and their had work is evident in their performance,” said Dr. Joshua Guerin, associate professor and department chair for the UT Martin Department of Computer Science. “I have to give all of the teams and coaches a lot of credit—this was a great year at our site. Most of the teams in attendance were able to solve four problems, and all of the teams at our site solved at least three. It’s exciting to see our students and regional competitors raising the bar for future years.”

Guerin coached the UT Martin teams alongside Dr. Kathleen Ericson and Dr. Qing Wang, both assistant professors in the UT Martin Department of Computer Science. The UT Martin Department of Computer Science is housed in the College of Engineering and Natural Sciences. For more information on the department or the programming contest, contact Guerin at <a href="mailto:jguerin@um.edu">jguerin@um.edu</a>.

###