UW-PARKSIDE EMERITUS PROFESSOR LEADS U.S. TEAM TO IOI MEDALS IN EGYPT 

KENOSHA, Wis.--University of Wisconsin-Parkside Emeritus Professor of Mathematics Don Piele
helped lead the USA Computing Olympiad (USACO) team to an impressive medal showing at the 20^th
International Olympiad in Informatics (IOI). The US team, featuring high school students from Indiana,
Louisiana and two from Virginia, collect two gold and two silver medals during the competition in Cairo,
Egypt, Aug. 16-23.

Piele said his young team did "a fabulous job" despite an overall lack of experience.

"Three of our four team members were rookies this year in Egypt but they came home as pros," Piele stated. 
"We are very proud of their accomplishment."

Among the 2008 gold medal winners was the team's only returning member David Benjamin, a
junior from West Lafayette, Ind. Benjamin won a bronze medal during last year's IOI in Zagreb, Croatia.
Neal Wu, a sophomore from Baton Rouge, La., also captured a gold medal. Benjamin and Wu both
finished in the top 10 of the competition. Silver medals were claimed by Jacob Steinhardt, a senior, and
Brian Hamrick, a sophomore both of whom attend Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology in
Alexandria, Va.

Held annually in a different location, IOI is a world computing championship for pre-college students.
The competition included a pair of five-hour sessions with students programming solutions to three complex
problems during each session. This year's competition drew teams from 78 nations.

USACO conducts six Internet-based contests for high schools students during the academic year.
The four team members are selected from more than a dozen finalists at the week-long USA Computing
Olympiad training camp held this year in late May and early at the UW-Parkside campus in Kenosha.
USACO is sponsored by USENIX, IBM, and ITA Software.

For more information on this year's IOI, contact Professor Piele at dpiele@gmail.com