A number of the Academy’s talented math students participated in the 2026 UNM-PNM Statewide High School Mathematics Contest. Many of them earned recognition, including two first-place finishes: Vania Ma for sixth grade, and Iris Huang for eighth grade. Iris was also the second-place finisher among participants in all grades. Junior Arjun Grandhe finished third overall.
- Vania Ma: 1st place in 6th grade
- Bryce Mao: 3rd place in 6th grade
- Vidit Rai: 4th place in 6th grade
- Chieloka Onunkwo: 4th place in 7th grade
- Iris Huang: 1st place in 8th grade and 2nd place overall
- Sahana Paruchuri: Honorable Mention in 8th grade
- Leo Luan: Honorable Mention in 8th grade
- Mark Goldman: 2nd place in 9th grade and Honorable Mention overall
- Keith Lee: 4th place in 9th grade and Honorable Mention overall
- Arjun Grandhe: 2nd place in 11th grade and 3rd place overall
- Harrison Schiek: Honorable Mention in 12th grade and overall
- Gavin Mitchell: Honorable Mention in 12th grade and overall
Between 700 and 1,200 New Mexico students benefit from this program annually. The contest is designed at the high school level, and New Mexico students from grades 5 through 12 may participate.
It has two examination rounds, each testing mathematical potential and ingenuity in addition to formal knowledge. Round I is administered at testing centers throughout the state and online. The top scorers are invited to the UNM Campus in early February to compete in Round II, administered as an in-person written exam.
Prior to the Round II exam, a prominent mathematician or statistician gives a presentation. Recent guests include Yuliya Gorb of the National Science Foundation, Stefan Steinerberger of the University of Washington, and Poh-Shen Loh of Carnegie Mellon University.
