KINGSTON, R.I. – March 31 – The limit does not exist for these local Rhode Island high schoolers. URI’s Mathematics Department will be hosting the 16th annual Calc Bowl on April 1 at 3 p.m. in Lippitt Hall, room 202. The Calc Bowl is a lively mathematics competition pioneered by Li Wu, a professor of mathematics, among Rhode Island high schools that tests students’ knowledge of pre-calculus and calculus.

“I feel the atmosphere between students, teams, faculty members and different institutions was very, very inspiring,” Wu said.

As a graduate student at the University of Wyoming, applied mathematics professor Wu participated in the university’s own Calc Bowl. Inspired by her experience, Wu brought the idea to the URI campus, establishing the URI Math Department Calc Bowl in 2007. Outreach began with invitations sent to local high schools, but because the event was so new and unknown, responses were limited. URI calculus students were also initially approached to generate interest. Slowly throughout the years, more high schools have become involved and built the event to what it is today. As connections have grown over the years, more schools are aware of the competition and make annual appearances.

“Every year post-COVID, we had at least one brand new school that never participated before,” said Vasilije Perović, professor of mathematics and data science.

The competition runs with a Jeopardy-style buzzer system, with teams racing to answer calculus questions in real time. The event begins with two preliminary rounds, each consisting of 30 to 35 open-ended questions. The top three or four teams from each round advance to the final round, which features up to eight teams.

The goal of Calc Bowl ultimately promotes teamwork and builds relationships between students, high school teachers, and higher education. Through enthusiasm and passion, several participating high schools have developed miniature versions of the event during their academic year. As the competition continues to expand, organizers hope to continue fostering excitement about math and inspiring the next generation of students.

“It is a challenge, but you feel the energy from students and they feel the energy, too,” Wu said.

By Erin Malinn ’28, journalism, Intern for the College of Arts and Sciences