On Friday, May 2nd, over 500 students from across Long Island made presentations at the final round of the Al Kalfus Long Island Math Fair at Hofstra University. 8th grader Boris Epie and junior Sheppard Somers, received medals for their presentations.

“The competition involved researching and writing a paper on a topic in mathematics, presenting that research before judges, and answering questions posed by the judges,” said Ms. Deann Reyes, Waldorf’s middle school math teacher.

Receiving a silver medal for his project, Boris’s topic focused on the physics of baseball. Sheppard presented on the vulnerabilities of majority voting and received a bronze medal for his report.

“We are all extremely proud of their hard work and fine achievement!” Reyes continued.

The Al Kalfus Long Island Math Fair is an annual competition sponsored by the Nassau and Suffolk County Math Teachers’ Association as well as the New York Metropolitan Section of the Mathematical Association of America. The competition invites nearly 1200 students in grades 7 through 12 from Nassau and Suffolk counties to conduct independent research on a math topic that interests them. Once a paper is accepted by the review committee, the students make a 15 minute preliminary round presentation in March to the judges. Students who make a successful presentation are invited to participate in the final round.