Akamai Foundation Awards $45,000 in College Scholarships to Country's Top High School Math Students

CAMBRIDGE, Mass., June 8 /PRNewswire/ -- The Akamai Foundation today announced that it has awarded three high school math students with scholarships for their placement in the recent U.S.A. Mathematical Olympiad.  An awards ceremony for the USAMO winners was held yesterday, June 7, in Washington D.C. at the MAA Headquarters and the U.S. Department of State building.

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The Akamai Foundation, established in 2000 by Akamai Technologies, Inc. (Nasdaq: AKAM) and funded solely through donations from Akamai employees and individuals outside the company, promotes mathematics education in grades K-12 and the pursuit of excellence in mathematics to encourage America's next generation of technology innovators.

The Akamai Foundation presented Akamai Scholarships to the top three winners of this year's competition, the most prestigious math competition in the country for high school students.  Allen Yuan of Detroit Country Day School, Farmington, Michigan, will receive a $20,000 scholarship for first place; and both Toan Duc Phan of The Taft School, Watertown, Connecticut, and Xiaoyu He of Acton-Boxborough Regional High School, Acton, Massachusetts, will each receive $12,500 in a tie for second place.  

The winners, high school students from across the country, are the best of the more than 225,000 students who took part in a series of challenging contests put together by the Mathematical Association of America's Mathematics Competitions program.  The USAMO exam is a six-question, two-day, nine-hour essay/proof examination.  It is from among the USAMO finalists that the United States team, that competes each summer in the International Mathematical Olympiad (IMO), is chosen.

"Math innovation has always been, and continues to be, at the heart of our mission," said Tom Leighton, chief scientist and co-founder, Akamai.  "We congratulate these winners, as well as all of the participants in this year's competition, on their pursuit of achieving excellence in mathematics.  The Akamai Foundation remains committed to helping to promote mathematics education among the next generation of technology innovators, inspiring young people to embrace math."  

Dr. Tina H. Straley, executive director of the MAA, said, "We are most appreciative of the Akamai Foundation's willingness to devote significant support to this important event.  We are striving to make our country's success in mathematics, and the public's interest, rise to the highest levels in the world.  This vital support will help us to increase the awareness and success of U.S. math students."

About the MAA

The Mathematical Association of America is the largest professional society of college and university mathematics teachers in the world. The MAA's 25,000 members include two- and four-year college, university, and graduate school faculty, high school teachers, government and corporate workers, research mathematicians, as well as graduate and undergraduate students.

About the Akamai Foundation

The Akamai Foundation was established in 2000 by Akamai Technologies, Inc. and is funded solely by Akamai executives, its employees and individuals outside the company.  The Akamai Foundation is dedicated to excellence in mathematics, with the aim of promoting math's importance and encouraging America's next generation of technology innovators.  

SOURCE Akamai Technologies, Inc.