This story was originally published by Adam Sodders with the Iowa State Daily.
A team of three ISU computer programmers will be competing at the International Collegiate Programming Contest “Battle of the Brains” in Marrakech, Morocco from May 16 to 20.
Tyler Uhlenkamp, Trevor Boone, and Jacob Smith were selected after a long process of challenges and trials to prove their programming abilities. Their coach, Simanta Mitra, a senior lecturer in the computer science department, said the teammates all work well together. “The guys are humble, friendly, and helpful,” said Mitra.
The contest consists of eight to twelve computer programming problems with algorithms. These algorithms are put into the computer after teams decide which one to use and how to use it, and the members hope the problem is solved.
The feedback the teams receive is very simple and brief, which team member Uhlenkamp finds most frustrating. “Basically, your feedback is one of three types: correct, incorrect or time limit,” Uhlenkamp said.
All three team members are software engineering students and Mitra expects they will all receive excellent job offers in the future.