Tobit James Narciso - Bronze Medalist -APMO 2008

From Positive News Media
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PhiSci wiz wins bronze in 20th Asian-Pacific Math OlympiadBy Jun 8, 2008 - 5:28:41 AM
MANILA, June 10 (PNA) -- Filipino prowess in mathematics shone in the recent conclusion of the 20th Asian-Pacific Mathematical Olympiad (APMO) with a student from the Philippine Science High School (PSHS) winning bronze in the event.

Tobit James Narciso, a graduate of PSHS-Diliman Campus, won bronze after garnering 9 points in total scores held last March 11 at the Ateneo de Manila University.

A student is awarded a bronze medal once he or she garners more than seven points, a silver medal for scores above 12 points and a gold medal for scores higher than 17 points. Total number of points is 35.

Narciso bested nine other high school students in the Philippines coming from different schools in the country.

The APMO started in 1989 which aims to discover, encourage and challenge mathematically-gifted school students in all Pacific Rim countries. It also intends to foster friendly international relations and cooperation between students and teachers in the Pacific-Rim Region, create an opportunity for the exchange of information on school syllabi and practice throughout the Pacific Region, and encourage and support mathematical involvement with Olympiad type activities, not only in the APMO participating countries, but also in other Pacific-Rim countries.

Participants in the APMO are given a four-hour paper consisting of five questions of varying difficulty and each having a maximum score of 7 points. The contest questions are collected from the contestants at the end of the APMO and are to be kept confidential until the Senior Coordinating Country posts them on the official APMO website. All contestants are not allowed to discuss the problems over the internet until the date that the results are posted.

This year's APMO appeared to be difficult with very low medal turnout: 17 for gold, 12 for silver, and 7 for bronze, with one bronze going to the Philippines. Overall, the Philippines ranked 17th among the 28 participating countries, garnering a total score of 42 and only one bronze medal, besting neighbors Indonesia, Cambodia, and Bangladesh. South Korea topped the list of countries participating in the APMO, followed by Japan, USA, Taiwan and Russia.

Dr. Ester B. Ogena, Director of the Science Education Institute, expressed her praise to Narciso as she challenged other high school students to step up for the country by excelling in mathematics.

"Mathematics need not be a difficult subject given the substantial training and knowledge from grade school to secondary level", she said.

Ogena said excellence in mathematics, as well as in science, should translate into careers in science, technology and engineering that could help catapult the Philippines to becoming a developed country.

"I urge our dear students to put into good use the foundation they get in joining this kind of competition by taking up science-related courses. We need you to help us pursue our development goals through research and development geared towards building our capacity to innovate our industries and improve our economy", she said. (PNA)