Math talent Andreas Alberg, a 10th-grade pupil at Fagerborg junior high school in Oslo, beat over 4 300 participants from the initial rounds, and 25 other finalists to emerge as the winner in the most renowned math and science competition for high school students in Norway. The first prize amounts to NOK 15 000, plus the opportunity to represent Norway in the International Mathematics Olympiad in Cluj-Napoca, Romania 7-14th July. 

- I am very happy that I won the Abelkonkurranse, says Andreas Alberg. – I spend a lot of time on mathematics because I think it’s fun. I took part in the Mathematics Olympiad last year and I’m looking forward to representing Norway in this year’s Mathematics Olympiad too.

Second place went to Bjørnar Gullikstad Hem of Nadderud senior high school, while Erik Ma of Trondheim cathedral school came third. Fourth place was shared by Luca Marino of St.Paul’s School, London and Phillip Bergh Sveen of Nydalen senior high. Sigvart Brendberg of Kristen senior high Trøndelag took sixth place. 

The PGS Challenger prize was awarded to Erik Mjaanes, a promising young contender from Oslo International School. Based on his young age and solid results, PGS believes that he has potential to win the Niels Henrik Abel Mathematics Competition in the future.   

The Minister for Education and Integration Jan Tore Sanner handed over the prizes and made the point that Norway has to get better at celebrating its mathematical talent:

- In the recent winter Olympics, Norge achieved a record number of medals. It’s great that we revere our sports heroes, but why not celebrate academic achievements too? All the finalists in the Niels Henrik Abel Mathematics Competition have spent time and energy to become ‘math smart’ and they should be proud of the results they have achieved in this competition, says Jan Tore Sanner.

The main sponsor of Niels Henrik Abel Mathematics Competition, seismic company PGS, invites all the finalists to visit the company’s head office in Oslo in May, as part of their visit to the award ceremony for the prestigious Abel Prize in mathematics. The objective is to give them an idea of how PGS applies mathematics to map the geology of the subsurface and facilitates oil companies search for find oil and gas using seismic data. 

- PGS sponsors Abelkonkurransen because good mathematical understanding is fundamental to our business, and we would like to demonstrate to young people with a talent for math and science that their knowledge opens a world of opportunity for themselves and for the future of our industry. We believe it’s important to honor math talent in the same way as sports stars, and we wish the participants in the mathematics Olympiad the very best of luck! says Rune Olav Pedersen, PGS CEO.

Niels Henrik Abel Mathematics Competition, known as Abelkonkurransen, has been arranged annually for over 30 years by the Norwegian Mathematics Association. It is sponsored by seismic company PGS, the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters, the Norwegian Research Council, NTNU and the Norwegian Mathematics Association.

For more information:

Kristian Seip, vice president of the Norwegian Mathematics Association, Tel: 911 29 136

Bård Stenberg, SVP Communications & Investor Relations, PGS, Tel: 992 45 235