Blair junior dominates international math competition

Junior Brian Lawrence earned a gold medal for achieving an individual perfect score at the 46th International Mathematical Olympiad (IMO), arguably the world's most prestigious high-school math competition. He and the other five members of the USA team finished second overall.

At the IMO, held in Merida, Mexico, from July 4 to July 18, 513 participants from 93 countries were given nine hours each to solve six math problems. Lawrence contributed 42 points, the highest individual score attainable, to the U.S. team's cumulative score of 213 points. China placed first with 235 points, Russia third with 212 points, Iran fourth with 201 points and Korea fifth with 200 points.

Lawrence also excelled in the USA Mathematical Olympiad (USAMO), a multi-stage nationwide competition. Of the 300,000 participants from over 4,000 schools, 300 students became eligible for the USAMO after taking the American Mathematics Contest and American Invitational Mathematics Exam qualifiers. Lawrence scored the highest at USAMO and received a $20,000 scholarship from the Akamai Foundation.

Two of the other five USA team members, Thomas Mildorf and Eric Price, attend Thomas Jefferson High School of Science and Technology in Alexandria, Virginia.