The jerry heuer maa-ncs team competition

The North Central Section’s team contest is held each year in mid November, typically two Saturdays (12 days) before Thanksgiving.  Teams of up to three undergraduate students work collaboratively at their home campuses on a series of ten problems from 9:00am until noon, when they submit their solutions.  Problems range in difficulty, and the contest is intended to be more accessible that national competitions such as the Putnam exam.  We encourage faculty to recruit students of all levels to take part!

The contest is named in honor of Jerry Heuer, who started and ran the contest for 23 years.

See below for more information about this year’s contest, past problems, and results.

  • The twenty-sixth edition of the Jerry Heuer MAA-NCS Team Competition was held on Saturday, November 16, 2024. There were 66 teams from 20 schools in this year’s contest. Scores ranged from 96.5 to 10, with a median score of 46.

    The first place team, with a an overall score of 96.5 (and the only team to earn a 10/10 on the last problem) was Team Desmos Complex Mode from the University of Minnesota (Twin Cities).  The UMN-TC teams continued their strong showing from recent years, with OZZY5438 in second place and the Gophers in third.  There were excellent performances by teams from NDSU, Carleton, St. Olaf, Macalester, Augustana, and Manitoba to round out the top 15.

    In the past, we awarded “Honorable Mention” each year to a number of high performing teams.  This year we moved to a tiered system.  In addition to first, second, and third place teams, we are also awarding certificates for “Outstanding Teams,” “Meritorious Teams,” and “Honorable Mention.”  View the results below to see which teams earned these honors.

  • Join us for the 26th Annual Heuer NCS Teams Contest!

    November 16, 2024 | 9:00AM – 12:00PM | On your campus!

    Teams of up to three undergraduate students will work together on the ten problems on the day of the contest. Problems will be uploaded to Gradescope for scoring. (Details about that process will be sent to supervising faculty at each school the week of the contest.)

    Registration for the event will open by October 15.

    What you need to sign up:

    Supervising faculty member name and email address.

    Estimated number of teams from your campus.

    Name and email address for faculty member interested in joining the scoring team (encouraged).

    Link for pre-registration: 2024 Heuer Team Contest Pre-Registration

    We do our best to accommodate late registrations, but we ask that the pre-registration form be filled out by Friday, November 8, 2024, if possible.  There is a cost of $10 per team for the 2024 contest.  Details about submitting rosters and paying the entry fees will be emailed to the supervising faculty at each school the week of the contest.

    Questions? Email heuercontest@umn.edu

  • In honor of the 28 years of service of Professor Emeritus, Dr. Jerry Heuer (1930-2021), the North Central Section voted on October 19, 2019 to rename the MAA-NCS Team Competition the Jerry Heuer MAA-NCS Team Competition.

    Teams of up to three undergraduate students work collaboratively at their home campuses on the ten problems, under the supervision of local faculty members. You are allowed to enter as many teams as you wish. Keep in mind that many students who might score zero on the Putnam can profitably participate in the Heuer NCS Team Contest, having fun and using their knowledge at the same time.

    The Contest will consist of ten problems, which will be graded on the basis of ten points per problem. The problems typically range in difficulty from moderatetly easy to Putnam level. For copies of the problems and solutions from prior years, and related information, see below.

    An announcement and call for registrations will be sent to one or more mathematics department members of all colleges and universities in the NCS in late September. Meanwhile, for more information, please contact current NCS-MAA President.

  • It is with great sadness that I share that Dr. Jerry Heuer, our colleague and friend, died on September 14, 2021.

    Dr. Heuer shared his love of mathematics and his joy in teaching with our entire community. He was a professor of mathematics at Concordia College in Moorhead from 1956 to 1995, and remained active within the college as Professor Emeritus and Mathematician in residence from 1995 until his death. He was an enthusiast of mathematics problem solving competitions and he shared his gifts with the MAA-NCS by leading the Team Competition for decades. He was honored for his 28 years of service to the MAA-NCS on October 19, 2019 when the competition was renamed to The Jerry Heuer MAA-NCS Team Competition.

    It is hard to find the words the capture the profound presence and impact of Dr. Heuer in our MAA community. His love of mathematics, teaching, and problem solving has inspired many of us, and this love has been and will continued to be passed down through generations of mathematicians within the North Central Section. He is deeply missed and we are grateful to celebrate him, and honor his legacy through The Jerry Heuer MAA-NCS Teams Competition.

    Megan Breit-Goodwin