SOLVING PROBLEMS AFTER HOURS Students of IEEE compete in a 24-hour computer programming competition For the third year, students participated in the sixth annual IEEE Xtreme Programming Contest and finished 221 out of 1,941 teams. The contest began at 7 p.m., Oct. 19, when IEEE released the first problem to be solved. Harding was represented by six students divided in two teams: The BisonX and Fire-Breathing Bisons. Both worked for a period of 24 hours to solve programming problems in the largest global competition of its kind. IEEE was founded Jan. 1, 1963, with 150,000 members, 140,000 of whom were in the United States. The organization was created by the union of two preexisting organizations: AlEE and IRE. AlEE, which stood for the American Institute of Electrical Engineers, began in 1884 "to support professionals in their nascent field and to aid them in their efforts to apply innovation for the betterment of humanity," as stated on the IEEE website. The younger Institute of Radio Engineers was founded in 1912 and was modelled on AlEE; however, IRE was dedicated to improving radios. IEEE stood for the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers. According to its website, IEEE was the largest professional association dedicated to advancing technological innovation and excellence for the benefit of humanity. In 2007, IEEE introduced the Xtreme Programming Contest in which students from universities all over the world solved approximately 20 problems using their programming skills. The majority of the six Harding participants were seniors, and they used their knowledge of C++, a coding language, to solve the problems. IEEE allowed participants to use C, C++, C#, Java, Python, Ruby, Pearl or PHP. The programming language was not as important as solving the problem as quickly as possible. "It was really fun seeing our names on the leader board at one point," member of BisonX senior Brandon Huber said. "Actually, out of the [19] hundred teams, we were in the top 10 for a couple minutes." Gedanken Society According to club president senior Paul Aiyedun, who participated in IEEE since his sophomore year, the most exciting and rewarding part of the competition was the anticipation during the final minutes of solving a problem correctly. For the students, the experience was not only about sitting in front of a computer and working; it was a time to strengthen their camaraderie while programming. Students of all interests and skill levels participated in the competition. "People have different personalities," senior Philip Adeoye said. "Some people are like 'I want so solve these problems, and that's all what I will do all night long and all day long.' Or there are some other people like me, who just want to have fun." The IEEE Xtreme Computer Programming Contest brought students together through an unusual hobby, allowing them to spend quality time together while doing something that challenged and interested them. Henry Gonzalez ASME Est. 1985: Row 1: V. Mcintosh, H. Weare, W. Gentry, K. Morkassel, C. Lents, C. Essary. Row 2: T. Overman, T. McNeill, P. Absher, S. Weare, E. Rabago, M. Greene, T. Smith, E. Wilson (sponsor). Row 3: S. Ransom, P. Phan, D. Province (sponsor), K. Barnett, P. Pugh, N. Eze, D. Cressy. American Society of Mechanical Engineers est. 2009: Row 1: K. Davis, D. Kimmel. Row 2: J. Crews, D. Bell. Row 3: J. Moore, D. Laxton. 254 I Organizations
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