Round 1 of UNM-PNM statewide math contest runs Nov. 6-9

LOS ALAMOS — Round 1 of the 2026-27 UNM-PNM Statewide High School Mathematics Contest runs Friday, Nov. 6, through Monday, Nov. 9, according to the Los Alamos Public Schools newsletter for Nov. 2-8. The University of New Mexico contest is written at the high school level, but New Mexico students in grades 5 through 12 have competed.

Students take Round 1 in one continuous three-hour sitting, at test centers around the state or online, and may arrange for a teacher to proctor, the newsletter and contest website say.

Top finalists are invited to UNM for a written Round 2 on Feb. 13, 2027, the day John Wright of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory gives a public talk there. The awards banquet is April 27.

Last year, Los Alamos High School students earned six top-five finishes in grades 9 through 12, and Los Alamos Middle School eighth-graders took a fourth place and an honorable mention, UNM's winners list shows.

UNM's Department of Mathematics and Statistics and a PNM grant sponsor the contest, co-directed by Professor Cristina Pereyra and Associate Professor Stephen Lau.