Area H.S. students vie for computer science honors

Computer science students from 10 Pennsylvania-area high schools had just five hours to prove their technical expertise on Saturday in the Moore Building during a computer programming competition. The University's computer science club, the Dining Philosophers, hosted the second annual Philadelphia Classic -- a competition in which 10 three-member teams worked to complete eight computer programming problems to win prizes and school recognition. Three software companies -- Lycos, Microsoft and Trilogy -- sponsored the event. Engineering senior Scott Raven, chairperson of the Dining Philosophers, said the objectives of the competition were for the students to challenge themselves "and at the same time have fun." According to Raven, the club notified nearly every high school within a 30-mile radius of Philadelphia of the competition. Participants hailed from schools in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York and Delaware. The top three winners of Saturday's competition were from Hatboro-Horsham High School in Horsham, Pa.; Brandywine High School in Wilmington, Del.; and Central Bucks West High School in Doylestown, Pa. Questions were scored on a 10-7-5 scale. If a team answered a question correctly on its first attempt, it received 10 points. For a second try, the group received seven points, and for a third or subsequent attempt, five points. Members of the Dining Philosophers said it was their primary goal to get students to focus on writing computer science programs instead of concentrating on the technical aspects of compiling codes. In fact, the group developed a software package specifically for the competition. According to Dining Philosophers Vice Chairperson Brian Kravitz, a Wharton and Engineering senior, the event also provided an opportunity for some of the best computer science students to see what the University has to offer. "[The event] is a stepping-stone for the coming years," Raven said. "We hope to recruit more high-quality teams and expand to be a well-known competition." Charles Rice, a computer science teacher at the Dalton School in New York City who brought his students to the event, said the nature of the competition is a vital "part of a good education." As an "out-of-classroom" experience, it encourages a great deal of cooperation among the students. Before the competition, the participants toured the facilities of the School of Engineering and Applied Science. Also, Computer and Information Science Professor Camillo Taylor welcomed the students and discussed one of his projects dealing with robotics.

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