11 November 2009
MEDIA RELEASE
Melbourne students top Australian medal count and head to Canberra
Seven Melbourne students are among the 26 Australian medallists in the 32nd annual
Australian Mathematics Competition (AMC) who will be presented with awards by
Professor Kurt Lambeck, President, Australian Academy of Science at a special ceremony
in Canberra on Friday, 13 November 2009 at the Shine Dome at 11am.
Several hundred thousand entrants from schools across 42 countries entered this year’s
competition and only 71 medals have been awarded globally to approximately the top 0.01% of
the students who sat the AMC.
The AMC is the major mathematics school enrichment event in the South Pacific region. In each
division of the competition, a limited number of medals are awarded for performances that are
outstanding both within a state or country and overall in the Competition.
The Victorian medallists are:
MEL
SHU
Year 7
MELBOURNE GRAMMAR - WADHURST
PATRICK
HE
8
SCOTCH COLLEGE
NICHOLAS
LIU
8
SCOTCH COLLEGE
ADRIAN
AGISILAOU
9
BALWYN HIGH SCHOOL
WAYNE
CHEUNG
10
CAMBERWELL GRAMMAR SCHOOL
AARON
CHONG
11
DONCASTER SECONDARY COLLEGE
DANA
MA
12
MELBOURNE GIRLS GRAMMAR SCHOOL (MERTON HALL)
Professor Peter Taylor, Executive Director of the not-for-profit Australian Mathematics
Trust that administers the AMC, will present a Peter O’Halloran Award to Mel Shu for
achieving a perfect score – one of only two awarded in Australia.
Professor Taylor said, “The AMC aims to encourage students of all standards in their study of
mathematics. It sets out to demonstrate how mathematics can be used in the world around
them via problem solving using the skills students learn in the classroom. The AMC has also
been useful in identifying talented students such as these and the results are used for inviting
students into more advanced mathematical enrichment programs.”
“In fact, Australia’s leading Mathematicians under the age of 40 were discovered and
developed as a result of their participation in the AMC”, he concluded.
The University of Canberra and the Canberra Mathematical Association in Australia are
supporting sponsors of the AMC.
For further information or to arrange interviews and photographs, please contact:
Professor Peter Taylor, Executive Director, Australian Mathematics Trust, 0412 258 699
Suzanne Fraser, Manager, Australian Mathematics Trust, 0437 670 610
(Student biog notes follow) …/2
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PROFILES OF THE 2009 AMC MEDALLISTS IN VICTORIA
Mel Shu
School:
Melbourne Grammar School Wadhurst; Year: 7
Mel also achieved a Perfect Score in the 2009 Maths Challenge Stage. He was a member of
the St Paul’s Cathedral Boy’s Choir from 2006 to 2008. Mel enjoys table tennis, snooker,
volleyball, drawing and computer programming. He hopes to become an architect.
Patrick He
School:
Scotch College; Year: 8
Patrick received a High Distinction in the 2009 AIMO and a Perfect Score in the 2008
Rio Tinto Big Science Competition. His interests include badminton, solving puzzles,
origami and software programming. Patrick hopes to pursue a career in computer science.
Nicholas Liu
School:
Scotch College: Year: 8
Nicholas won a Prize in the 2008 AMC and earned an Outstanding Award in the 2009
BHP Billiton Maths Competition. He enjoys chess, tennis, saxophone, computer, console
games and reading. Nicholas hopes to become a doctor or a lawyer in the future.
Adrian Agisilaou
School:
Balwyn High School; Year: 9
Adrian has received high distinctions in the AIMO in 2007, 2008 and 2009. He received
Outstanding awards in the University of Melbourne Competition in 2007 and 2009 and was
second prize winner in 2008. He also achieved a Perfect Score Award in the Rio Tinto Big
Science Competition in 2008. Adrian loves singing and performing in musical theatre with the
Young Australian Broadway Chorus. He is unsure what career path he will choose to follow
but would like to pursue his studies in mathematics and science.
Wayne Cheung
School:
Camberwell Grammar School; Year: 10
Wayne has received 3 consecutive Awards for Academic Excellence at his school. He was the
timpani player at a performance of Carl Orff’s Carmina Burana in a school concert. Wayne plays
piano, percussion and clarinet. He enjoys performing in ensemble groups and listening to
classical music as well as reading and badminton. Wayne would like to be a physicist in the
areas of condensed matter, nanotechnology or cosmology.
Aaron Chong
School:
Doncaster Secondary College, Vic.; Year: 11
Aaron won a Silver Medal (scoring just two points short of winning Gold) in the 2009 IMO. He
achieved a perfect score in the AMC in years 6, 7 and 9 and this is his fourth AMC medal. Aaron
also won three gold, two silver and one bronze award in interschool chess tournaments. He won the
“Australia’s Brainiest Kid” Game Show in 2004. He enjoys badminton, tennis, volleyball and archery
and likes reading, board games, computer, chess, music and piano. He would like a career in
accounting and I.T.
Dana Ma
School:
Melbourne Girls Grammar School; Year: 12
Dana represented Australia in the 2009 International Mathematical Olympiad. She
was a Hanna Neumann Scholar at the National Mathematics Summer School,
achieved a Gold Award in the Australian Maths Olympiad and a Bronze in the Asian
Pacific Mathematical Olympiad. Dana enjoys maths, reading, writing, badminton,
table tennis, watching musicals and long walks. She hopes to study mathematics at
university.
NEWS 
