Nathan after being announced as the 2025 RTX MATHCOUNTS National Champion.
Brandon Ni, the Countdown Round Runner-Up.
Massachusetts team; from left: Soham Samanta, Eric Huang, Shlok Mukund, Brandon Ni, Josh Frost, Dr. Jagadeesh Pamulapati (U.S. Department of Defense), Nancy Blackwell, P.E., F.NSPE (MATHCOUNTS Board of Directors), Keri Connors (MATHCOUNTS Board of Directors and RTX).
Massachusetts crowned top state MATHCOUNTS® team
WASHINGTON, DC, UNITED STATES, May 12, 2025 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Nathan Liu, a 14-year-old eighth grader from Richardson, Texas solved his way to victory over 223 competitors, becoming the 2025 RTX MATHCOUNTS National Champion following an intense, elite competition at the Westin Washington, D.C. Downtown this past weekend. As the National Champion, Nathan will receive the $20,000 Donald G. Weinert College Scholarship.
Nathan squared off against his opponents in the Countdown Round of the 2025 RTX MATHCOUNTS National Competition, in which the top 12 Mathletes in the country competed in head-to-head matchups. He won by answering the question: “A regular octahedron has a surface area that is 44% greater than the surface area of a smaller regular octahedron. This smaller octahedron has a volume of 1,000 cubic inches. What is the volume, in cubic inches, of the larger octahedron?” He calculated the correct answer, 1,728 cubic inches, in less than four seconds.
Brandon Ni, 13, of Lexington, Massachusetts, was the Countdown Round Runner-Up and won a $7,500 scholarship. The remaining Countdown Round participants were:
• Jason Bo, a seventh-grader from Los Gatos, Calif.
• Andrew Du, an eighth-grader from Vienna, Va.
• Advait Joshi, a seventh-grader from Livingston, N.J.
• Justin Kim, a seventh-grader from San Jose, Calif.
• Lucas Li, an eighth-grader from Huntersville, N.C.
• Shlok Mukund, a seventh-grader from Lexington, Mass.
• Alexander Svoronos, a seventh-grader from New Canaan, Conn.
• Alexander Yang, an eighth-grader from Bellevue, Wash.
• Victor Yang, a seventh-grader from Great Neck, N.Y.
• Ryan Zhang, an eighth-grader from Jericho, N.Y.
In the team competition, Massachusetts captured the title of First Place Team. Team members include:
• Eric Huang, an eighth-grader from Acton
• Shlok Mukund, a seventh-grader from Lexington
• Brandon Ni, a seventh-grader from Lexington
• Soham Samanta, an eighth-grader from Medford
The New York state team took second place, and the Washington state team placed third.
Nathan was among 224 competitors from all 50 states as well as U.S. territories and schools that serve the U.S. State and Defense departments, who traveled to Washington after earning a spot in the national competition. More than 33,000 students participated in the local and state competitions that led to this weekend's event.
The 2025 RTX MATHCOUNTS National Competition honors the history of computer science while recognizing the bright young thinkers who will shape its future. MATHCOUNTS was founded in 1983—also a milestone year in the history of the Internet. With this being the 42nd year of MATHCOUNTS, and with 42 popularized as “the answer to Life, the Universe and Everything” in computer science circles, the event celebrated the progress math and technology have made as intertwined forces over the past 42 years.
“We are so proud of the work MATHCOUNTS has done for 42 years to help students become confident problem solvers,” said Kristen Chandler, executive director of MATHCOUNTS. "Nathan is the newest addition to thousands of students over the years who have gone on to do incredible things with what they’ve learned in our programs.”
This is the 16th year that RTX has served as title sponsor of the MATHCOUNTS National Competition as part of its global commitment to science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) education.
“These students have demonstrated remarkable perseverance, creativity and problem-solving skills—qualities that not only earned them a place at the National Competition but also inspire a brighter future for us all,” said Keri Connors, executive director, Global Affairs at RTX. “Congratulations to Nathan and to all the competitors who rose to the challenge and put their skills to the test.”
About MATHCOUNTS Foundation
MATHCOUNTS is a nonprofit organization that strives to engage middle school students of all ability and interest levels in fun, challenging math programs, in order to expand their academic and professional opportunities. Middle school students exist at a critical juncture in which their love for mathematics must be nurtured, or their fear of mathematics must be overcome. For more than 40 years, MATHCOUNTS has provided free, high-quality resources to educators and enriching, extracurricular opportunities to students to lay a foundation for future success. Materials and information are available at www.mathcounts.org.
About RTX
RTX is the world's largest aerospace and defense company. With more than 185,000 global employees, we push the limits of technology and science to redefine how we connect and protect our world. Through industry-leading businesses – Collins Aerospace, Pratt & Whitney, and Raytheon – we are advancing aviation, engineering integrated defense systems for operational success, and developing next-generation technology solutions and manufacturing to help global customers address their most critical challenges. The company, with 2024 sales of more than $80 billion, is headquartered in Arlington, Virginia.
Molly Gormley
MATHCOUNTS
molly@mathcounts.org
Visit us on social media:
LinkedIn
Instagram
Facebook
YouTube
TikTok
X
Legal Disclaimer:
EIN Presswire provides this news content "as is" without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the author above.
