Florida Tech Hosts Regional Battle of the Brains, IBM-sponsored Programming Competition, Nov. 6

MELBOURNE, FLA.—Florida Institute of Technology, led by Ryan Stansifer, associate professor of computer science, will host the Annual Southeast Regional, IBM-sponsored ACM International Collegiate Programming Contest. The event will pit more than 70 teams from the five states of Florida, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia and South Carolina against each other for an all-day mental challenge. The students will attempt to solve complex, real-world programs under a grueling five-hour deadline.

Teams of three students each write computer programs to solve a set of problems in five hours. This fall, teams will compete from 1,931 universities and 82 countries, at 242 sites around the world.

Florida Tech will coordinate the event. “Thirty-three universities will participate simultaneously at three sites, including right here on campus,” said Stansifer. “They’ll be pushing their brains to the limits, applying all their programming skills to tackle some very difficult problems prepared in secret. A panel of distinguished judges will rigorously evaluate the students’ programs to determine if they are correct.”

Last year, Florida Tech fielded one of the 19 U.S. teams invited to the world finals in Harbin, China. This year the World Finals will be held in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt in February-March 2011.

IBM’s sponsorship has fueled the growth of the contest, which now includes tens of thousands of students. Since the IBM sponsorship began in 1997, the number of teams participating has increased from 1,100 to more than 7,100 teams.