Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, March 7, 1992 TAG: 9203070105
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-2 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: MADELYN ROSENBERG
DATELINE: BLACKSBURG LENGTH: Medium
They created programs that would, say, eradicate moths in the Northeast. Or they invented computer games.
They were practicing, trying to be the quickest and the best - so they could win scholarships and computers in a competition sponsored each year by AT&T.
This year's contest was held Wednesday in Kansas City, Mo. Tech's team - Pat Brown, Alex Barry and Lawrence Kesteloot - came in fourth out of the 30 finalists, just below Stanford.
It's an "olympics of the minds" that pits students from the United States, Europe, Canada and the Pacific Rim against one another.
Melbourne University was first in this year's competition, followed by Michigan State, Stanford and Tech.
Tech's $3,000 prize will be split into scholarships for the three teammates. The department also will be given an AT&T computer.
Each of the student teams was a top contender in 12 regional contests held last fall, which involved more than 400 teams representing 400 colleges and universities.
Tech won the regional competition in October at the University of Maryland.
The AT&T competitions are held to draw attention to the computer science fields and to encourage students to stay in them.
There is a nationwide shortage of such students, said Andrew Silver of Spector Associates, which is helping promote the competition.
Tech has seen a decline, too, in past years, but seems to be holding its own, said Sandra Birch, assistant to the department head in Computer Science.
"We've seen a slight increase in entering freshmen classes," she said. "But nationwide, the bloom is off the major."
Other fields include computers in their curriculums now, she said, and that may be one reason for the change.
by CNB