Four Waterloo teams, each with a triad of exceptional algorithmic programmers, took the first, third, fourth and 20th place spots at the recent 2023 ICPC North America East Division Contest held at the University of Windsor.
Waterloo Black, consisting of Max Jiang (3A CS), Wen Yuen Pang (4A CS) and Kevin Wan (4A CS and C&O) finished first, solving 10 out of 12 problems.
Waterloo Gold, consisting of Allen Pei (2A CS), Chris Trevisan (3A CS) and Mars Xiang (1A CS) finished third, solving 9 out of 12 problems.
Waterloo White, consisting of Moses Xu (3A CS), Andrew Qi Tang (3B CS) and Kai Wen (Kevin) Yang (2A CS) finished fourth, also solving 9 out of 12 problems.
Waterloo Red, consisting of Dongruixuan Li (1A SE), Victor Gao (2B Math) and Ryan Wu (3A CS), finished 20th, solving 8 out of 12 problems.
2023 ICPC North America East Division • Top 10 teams
A check mark in a dark green circle indicates the team was first to solve the problem, a check mark in a light green circle indicates the team solved the problem, and an x in a red circle indicates that the problem was attempted.
An incorrect submission results in a 20-minute penalty being added to the total time to solve a problem.
Waterloo teams were coached by Cheriton School of Computer Science Professors Ondřej Lhoták and Troy Vasiga, and sponsored by Jane Street, an international firm that trades a wide range of financial products.
“Ondřej and I are extremely proud of all of the Waterloo teams,” said Professor Vasiga. “With Waterloo Black’s first-place win, we are looking forward to Kevin, Max and Wen Yuen facing top teams from MIT, Stanford, and other strong universities in computer science at the upcoming North America-wide ICPC and hopefully qualifying for the ICPC World Finals.”
Front row: Professor Troy Vasiga, Dongruixuan Li, Wen Yuen Pang, Victor Gao, Chris Trevisan, Andrew Qi Tang, Mars Xiang, Professor Ondřej Lhoták
Back row: Ryan Wu, Kevin Wan, Allen Pei, Max Jiang, Kevin Yang, Moses Xu
About the International Collegiate Programming Contest
The ICPC is the oldest, largest and most prestigious university-level algorithmic programming contest in the world. Each year, more than 50,000 students from more than 3,000 universities across 111 countries compete in more than 400 on-site competitions to earn a spot at the World Finals. Volunteer coaches prepare their teams with intense training and instruction in algorithms, programming and teamwork strategy.
Huddled around a single computer, teams of three attempt to solve about a dozen complex real-world problems within a gruelling five-hour deadline. Teammates collaborate to rank the difficulty of the problems, deduce the requirements, design test beds and build software systems to solve the problems.
Each year, the ICPC regionals begin at local competitions among classmates to determine who will represent their university. Success at one level leads to an invitation to the next. Each region progresses differently, but the result is the same — the best teams advance. The final regional contest determines the teams advancing to the World Finals.
More about Waterloo’s outstanding results at ICPC competitions through the years
- The University of Waterloo is the only Canadian university to win the ICPC World Finals, taking the prized title in 1994 and again in 1999.
- A passion for programming — An interview with Cheriton School of Computer Science professor Ondřej Lhoták, who was a member of the Waterloo team that won the 1999 ICPC World Championship.
