About Us
Our Mission
The goal of the Woburn Challenge is to inspire the next generation of problem solvers by challenging them to a series of fun and thought-provoking computer science problems throughout the school year. This revival of the Woburn Challenge is being sponsored and run by friends and alumni of Woburn Collegiate Institute's Programming Enrichment Group (WCIPEG) who have found the lessons that they learned while programming to be invaluable in their lives and across a broad range of careers. Through the new Woburn Challenge, we look forward to giving back to the amazing Canadian high school computer science community that helped shape our lives.
MEET THE TEAM
The Brains
Alex Li, contest coordinator
Alex graduated from Woburn in 2015 and was a former PEG leader. He is currently studying computer science at the University of Toronto. Since joining PEG, he has set problems for a large number of contests, including the Google Code Jam World Finals. He is responsible for logistics and outreach for the new Woburn Challenge.
Jacob Plachta, chief problem setter
Jacob graduated from Woburn in 2010 and served as a former PEG leader. He studied music at the University of Toronto and is currently a software engineer at Facebook in Menlo Park, California. As an experienced contest programmer, Jacob serves as a key problem-setter for the Canadian Computing Competition as well as the Facebook Hacker Cup. He is also the primary problems setter for the new Woburn Challenge.
Brian Bi, contest system admin
Brian graduated from Woburn in 2010 and served as a former PEG leader. He studied physics and chemistry at the University of Toronto and is currently a software engineer in New York City. Brian has participated in programming contests since 2002, winning medals at the IOI and ACM-ICPC. Brian maintains the PEG Judge, the online contest platform used by the new Woburn Challenge.
Michael Wong, founding sponsor
Michael graduated from Woburn in 2002 and is an alumnus of PEG. He studied economics at Yale University and currently lives and works in New York City. After kicking around the idea of restarting the Woburn Challenge for a few years, Michael and Anthony finally decided to pull the trigger this year.
Anthony Xu, founding sponsor
Anthony graduated from Woburn in 2002 and served as a former PEG leader. He studied biology and economics at Yale University and currently lives and works in New York City. After kicking around the idea of restarting the Woburn Challenge for a few years, Michael and Anthony finally decided to pull the trigger this year.
The Money
Friends of PEG
Friends of PEG is a nonprofit organization funded by friends and alumni of WCI PEG. The organization is dedicated to supporting the new Woburn Challenge as well as any future initiatives that we may come up with.
The liaisoN
Michael Fenty, Woburn C.I. / PEG liaison
Mr. Fenty is a computer science teacher at Woburn C.I. and is the current teacher supervisor of the Woburn Programming Enrichment Group. He is our main connection with the club and contact for the school.