ORLANDO, Fla., May 15, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Luke
Robitaille, a home-schooled 13-year-old 7th grader from
Euless, Texas is the 2017 Raytheon
MATHCOUNTS® National Champion, following an intense, elite
competition at the Hilton Orlando Lake
Buena Vista, Florida.
Luke Robitaille won the final
round of the 2017 Raytheon MATHCOUNTS National Competition by
answering the question: "In a barn, 100 chicks sit peacefully in a
circle. Suddenly, each chick randomly pecks the chick immediately
to its left or right. What is the expected number of un-pecked
chicks?" He gave the correct answer, 25, in 0.9 seconds. As
National Champion, Luke Robitaille
is the recipient of the $20,000
Donald G. Weinert College Scholarship and a trip to U.S. Space
Camp.
Luke Robitaille entered the
competition finals as the first-ranked competitor in the Countdown
Round, during which the 12 Mathletes® with the highest written test
scores competed in head-to-head matchups for the title of 2017
National Champion. Seventh grader Andrew
Cai, 13, of Sugar Land,
Texas, was the Countdown Round Runner-Up. The semifinalists
were: Jack Albright, a
7th grader from Los Altos,
Calif., and William Wang, an
8th grader from Princeton,
N.J.
In the team competition, Texas
captured the title of First Place Team. Team members include
Andrew Cai, 7th grade;
Luke Robitaille, 7th
grade; Justin Xiao, 8th
grade; Jeremy Zhou, 8th
grade. The New Jersey state team
took second place, and the California team placed third.
This is the ninth year that Raytheon Company (NYSE: RTN) has
served as title sponsor of the MATHCOUNTS National Competition as
part of its global commitment to science, technology, engineering
and math education.
"These Mathlete competitors demonstrated a mastery and
enthusiasm for the subject that is both impressive and inspiring,"
said Thomas A. Kennedy, Raytheon
Chairman and CEO. "Their passion is infectious, and it gets you
excited to think about the great breakthroughs they will someday
achieve as the next generation of STEM innovators and
professionals."
Luke Robitaille was among 224
competitors from all 50 states, plus U.S. territories and schools
that serve the U.S. State and Defense departments who traveled to
Orlando after earning a spot in
the national competition. More than 100,000 students participated
in the local and state competitions that led to this weekend's
event. This year's competition was the 34th in the MATHCOUNTS
Foundation's history.
"Every year these outstanding students show us how far hard
work, perseverance and passion can take you," said Lou DiGioia, executive director of MATHCOUNTS.
"I congratulate Luke and can't wait to see what he and the 223
other national competitors go on to accomplish in the future."
About MATHCOUNTS Foundation
MATHCOUNTS is a
nonprofit organization that strives to engage middle school
students of all ability and interest levels in fun, challenging
math programs, in order to expand their academic and professional
opportunities. Middle school students exist at a critical juncture
in which their love for mathematics must be nurtured, or their fear
of mathematics must be overcome. For more than 30 years, MATHCOUNTS
has provided free, high-quality resources to educators and
enriching, extracurricular opportunities to students to lay a
foundation for future success. Materials and information are
available at www.mathcounts.org. Follow us on Twitter.
About Raytheon
Raytheon Company, with 2016
sales of $24 billion and 63,000
employees, is a technology and innovation leader specializing in
defense, civil government and cybersecurity solutions. With a
history of innovation spanning 95 years, Raytheon provides
state-of-the-art electronics, mission systems integration,
C5ITM products and services, sensing, effects, and
mission support for customers in more than 80 countries. Raytheon
is headquartered in Waltham,
Massachusetts. Follow us on Twitter.
Media Contacts
MATHCOUNTS
Amanda
Naar
amanda@mathcounts.org
+1.703.299.9006
Raytheon Company
Brandie Gerrish
+1.781.522.5193
brandie.gerrish@raytheon.com
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SOURCE Raytheon