Dr. Sherri Harms
UNK Department of Computer Science and Information Systems, 308-865-8123
UNK– University of Nebraska at Kearney computer science team places fifth in the regional Battle of the Brains competition.
Two teams of UNK computer science and information system majors competed in the 2010 Association for Computing Machinery International Collegiate Programming Contest, also known as Battle of the Brains. The regional competition was held in Lincoln, and 30 teams from universities in Iowa, Kansas, South Dakota, Minnesota and Nebraska competed.
The UNK team that earned a fifth place ranking, the Deve-Lopers, consisted of Kelsey Bard of Wakefield, Daniel Farlinof Kearney and Brian Flannery of Atkinson. According to Dr. Sherri Harms, UNK computer science and information systems chair, only one team in the 30 teams competing answered more questions than the UNK team.
“The students pushed their brains to the limits, applying their programming skills and maintaining their mental endurance to solve complex, real world problems under a grueling five-hour deadline,” Dr. Harms said. “Tackling these problems is equivalent to completing a semester’s worth of computer programming in one afternoon.”
The second UNK team, which did not place, consisted of sophomores Ryan Levell of Cozad, Scott Tallmage of North Platte and Josh Wilson of Grand Island.
“This was the first year these team members participated in this competition,” Dr. Harms said. “We are confident that they will do better next year, as these young men are extremely bright and talented.”
According to Dr. Harms, the team that solved the most problems correctly in the least amount of time won a coveted spot on the World Finals roster in Egypt.
The participating students are listed below, alphabetically by hometown, along with their major and year in school.
ATKINSON– Brian Flannery, computer science/mathematics, senior
COZAD– Ryan Levell, computer science/physics, sophomore
GRAND ISLAND– Josh Wilson, computer science/physics, sophomore
KEARNEY– Daniel Farlin, computer science/mathematics, senior
NORTH PLATTE– Scott Tallmage, computer science, sophomore
WAKEFIELD– Kelsey Bard, computer science/management information systems, junior
