NACLO - North American Computational Linguistics Olympiad at Stony Brook University

CALLING ALL MIDDLE AND HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS!

Do you love language? Try deciphering an ancient script or deducing the logical patterns of Swahili, Hawaiian, or Finite State Transducers! Compete for a chance to attend the international competition and compete against students from all over the world!

NO EXPERIENCE NECESSARY!  PARTICIPATION IS FREE!

Come and join in this exciting program for middle and high school students sponsored by the National Science Foundation. The North American Computational Linguistics Olympiad (NACLO) is a contest for US and Canadian students consisting of a challenging and fun series of puzzles in computational linguistics that students have to solve during a three-hour test. Registration is a must, but no previous knowledge of linguistics or computing is required! The puzzles can be solved with analytic reasoning and problem-solving skills.

What kinds of students are interested in NACLO? Typical NACLO participants enjoy puzzles and languages and take math, language, and/or computer classes. 

What’s in it for you? Students participating in this olympiad will learn about a new field of study, participate in fun games, partake in an enriching experience and add an item to their resumes that will help in the college admissions process. 

When is it?
The Open Round of testing will be on Thursday, January 26, 2017 at 10:00am at Stony Brook University in the IACS Seminar Room. The test lasts for 3 hours and consists of 3-8 problems. Last year there were more than 1,000 participants at 100 test sites, and participation continues to grow. Winners of the Open Round are invited to the Invitational Round, and the winners of the Invitational Round are eligible to participate in the International Linguistics Olympiad. In 2014, Stony Brook University had a student advance to the international round where he competed in Beijing, China. 

How can I prepare? For students interested in participating, a voluntary training session will be available that will include practice problems, test-taking tips, as well as an overview of linguistics and computational linguistics. The training session will be held on Sunday, January 15, 2017, 11:00am-1:00pm at Stony Brook University’s IACS Seminar Room. For practice test problems, you can visit www.nacloweb.org/practice.php#naclo_online  

*************************

To register for the test: visit www.nacloweb.org and select Stony Brook University as your testing site.

*************************

Directions: Make a left at the main entrance onto Circle Road. Take Circle Road south and make a right onto Lake Drive, directly before the roundabout. Make your first right into the lot in front of the IACS building. There is no parking in the front of the building, only drop off/pick up space. 

For more information, you can contact:

Sarena Romano, IACS Travel and Event Coordinator
Institute for Advanced Computational Science
631-632-2346
sarena.romano@stonybrook.edu

Program Director
Lori Repetti, Professor, Department of Linguistics