If math people held a rager, this year’s Integration Bee would be it.

No, not a spelling bee. Yes, integrations, like those you saw in Calculus. Columbia University held its 4th annual integration bee this past Friday, March 7, with 12 contestants in the final tournament vying for the title of Grand Integrator in Havemeyer 309.

To qualify, students had to take a qualifying exam of over 20 questions in only one hour. Looking at the first couple questions on this test, I figured it couldn’t be that bad. Letting my hopes get the best of me, I scrolled down, and there I found it—an utter beast I can’t even dare restate here. (But if you really want it, here’s the qualifying test.) Contestants were then seeded by how many they got correct.

The top 4 qualifiers—Andrii Shypachov, Leo Li, Luke Freed, and Srijan Deoraj—bypassed the first round and received a buy-in to the quarterfinals, while a set of four reserves stood on standby. Each was encouraged to bring friends, and the room was filled with excitement and over 50 supporters.

Contestants advanced on a best-of-three format through the quarterfinals, with tiebreakers held after when necessary. For the semifinals and after, the Bee was moved to a best-of-five format. Each contestant was allotted two guesses within the time limit, and if both used all, then the floor was opened to the audience.

During a brief intermission, both a Kahoot and an exhibition round were held. 

Palpable with tension throughout the competition, each contestant took a chalkboard, eager to race to the finish. One by one, competitors were eliminated, March-Madness-style. In the semifinal round, only Freed, Sharanya Chatterjee, Deoraj and Shypachov remained. Chatterjee and Shypachov then exited gracefully, making the final matchup feature between Freed and Deoraj. Finally, Deoraj broke a tied stalemate, and took home the win.

A big thanks to Professor George Dragomir and graduate students Austin Lei, Douglas Chen, and Nikhil Shanbhag for organizing such a nerdy, exciting event! And of course, congratulations to Srijan Deoraj on the newfound title.

Find more information, including past winners here. 

Image via Bwog Staff