Student lands UW's first prized Putnam

The University of Washington has its first Putnam Fellow since the elite college-math competition began some 72 years ago.

Will Johnson, 21, was one of five students from more than 4,000 who competed this year to win a fellowship. The other students came from MIT (which had two winners), Harvard and Yale.

"Just as Duke, Kansas and Kentucky always seem to dominate in basketball, the Putnam Fellowships have been 'owned' by Harvard, MIT and Cal Tech," UW President Mark Emmert said in a statement. "It's great to have a Husky join them."

The five winners, whose individual scores aren't released, each get $2,500 — and bragging rights for life.

Johnson thinks he scored about 100 out of a possible 120. The median score among all competitors was less than 10.

"Will is brilliant," said Julia Pevtsova, an assistant UW math professor who has helped coach Johnson for previous competitions. "If we helped by getting him interested just a little bit, then that's the highest distinction."

Pevtsova said Johnson gets intensely curious about all sorts of things — not just mathematics — and delves deeply to find answers from many angles until he's an expert.

"Anything he does, he takes it to a very perfect extreme," she said.

Ioana Dumitriu, another assistant UW math professor who became the first woman to win a Putnam in 1996, described Johnson as a "once in a generation" student.

Johnson remained low-key about the honor Monday. He said he isn't sure what kind of career he wants, although he plans to apply to graduate school — which he now gives himself a "good chance" of getting into thanks to the award.

The math competition, held each December, is a grueling six hours, with a break midway through. Each contestant must try to solve a series of 12 problems by proving or disproving a hypothesis in each case.

Johnson said he didn't get tired competing because he was so energized by being able to come up with the answers for all but one of the problems. He had entered the previous Putnam competition — and came in sixth in the nation, just missing out on a fellowship.

"Advanced math classes aren't all that helpful," Johnson said. "It's all about doing creative things, or finding tricks, with what you already know."

Johnson grew up in Kenmore and attended Inglemoor High School. The son of two engineers, he's long had an interest in math, attending math Olympiads in Nebraska during high school.

Mom Nanette Johnson recalls that when her son was in about third grade he wanted to know if a cone was measured by its interior space or just its surface. So she pulled out one of her old college textbooks for him — and he ended up reading the whole thing.

It's not only math in which he excels. Last year, Johnson helped create a computer program that uses vibrations to transmit Braille through the touch screens of smart phones.

"He's very inquisitive. He comes up with new ideas all the time," said Richard Ladner, a UW professor of computer science and engineering who worked with Johnson on the Braille program.

"He told me that ever since he was a Boy Scout, he's also been interested in doing service and doing good."

Nick Perry: 206-515-5639 or nperry@seattletimes.com