2018 Mathematical Contest in Modeling
®
Press Release—April 20, 2018
COMAP is pleased to announce the results of the 34th annual
Mathematical Contest in Modeling (MCM). This year, 10670 teams
representing institutions from eighteen countries/regions participated in the
contest. Sixteen teams from the following institutions were designated as
OUTSTANDING WINNERS:
Army Medical University, China
Beihang University, China, (COMAP Scholarship Award)
Beijing Forestry University, China
Beijing Normal University, China (Frank Giordano Award)
Beijing University of Technology, China
Harbin Institute of Technology, China (INFORMS Award)
North China Electric Power University Baoding, China
Peking University, China (SIAM Award)
Shanghai Jiao Tong University, China (2)
(INFORMS Award)
Shanghai University of Finance and Economics, China
University of Colorado Boulder, CO, USA
(SIAM Award & MAA Award)
University of International Business and Economics, China
Virginia Tech, VA, USA,
(MAA Award & COMAP Scholarship Award)
Xi'an Jiaotong University, China (ASA Data Insights Award)
Zhengzhou University, China
This year’s contest ran from Thursday, February 8 to Monday, February
12, 2018. During that time, teams of up to three undergraduate or high
school students researched, modeled, and submitted a solution to one of
three modeling problems. The 2018 MCM was primarily an online contest.
Teams registered, obtained contest materials, and downloaded the problem
and data at the prescribed time through COMAP’s MCM Website.
This year, the three MCM problems represented interesting scenarios for
contestants, each offering a dimension of mathematical modeling that was
unique. The authors of problems A, B, and C are Dr. Michael Tortorella
(A, B) and Dr. Kelly Black, respectively.
Problem A introduced a long standing yet not widely understood problem
involving high frequency (HF) radio transmissions that exhibit multiple
hopping behavior due to both surface and atmospheric conditions. Teams
were asked to identify influential variables and construct a mathematical
model to determine the maximum number of hops a transmission could
make before the signal dropped below a maximum usable frequency
(MUF) over a calm ocean, a turbulent ocean, and rugged terrain. To
compound the challenge a bit, the receiving station became a moving ship
on the ocean. This was a tough problem with multiple modeling choices
needed to be made in order to obtain viable, realistic answers to the
questions posed.
The B problem addressed an interesting issue of language transference,
cross-influence, and survivability in the modern age of sophisticated digital
communications. Placed in the context of a large multinational service
company seeking to identify potential locations for offices, teams were
asked to mathematically model the evolution of language speaker densities
for 10 major languages as influenced by population movement trends and
digital communications to predict where offices should be placed and what
languages in addition to English should be resourced with fluent speakers.
Finally, the C problem introduced a large set of data representing 50 years
of energy use in California, Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas summarized
in 605 variables, and asked teams to build a mathematical model to
characterize an ‘energy profile’ for each state. This energy profile model
was then used to assess which profile was ‘best.’ Thus, there was, as in past
years, a good amount of structured thinking, discussion, and decision
making required before any team could undertake mathematical modeling.
A majority of teams chose this problem to tackle, yielding a wealth of
insightful data insights upon which teams constructed their solutions.
A selection from the Outstanding solution papers will be featured in The
UMAP Journal, along with commentaries from the problem authors and
judges. All 10670 of the competing teams are to be congratulated for their
excellent work and enthusiasm for mathematical modeling and
interdisciplinary problem solving.
2018 MCM Statistics
10670 teams participated
2514 Problem A (24%)
3408 Problem B (32%)
4748 Problem C (44%)
331 US Teams (3%)
10339 Foreign Teams (97%) from Australia, Canada, China,
Finland, Hong Kong (SAR), India, Indonesia, Ireland,
Macau (SAR), Mexico, Scotland, South Africa, South Korea,
Spain, Taiwan, United Kingdom and Vietnam
16 Outstanding Winners (1%)
23 Finalist Winners (1%)
1074 Meritorious Winners (10%)
3574 Honorable Mentions (33%)
5766 Successful Participants (54%)
31 Unsuccessful Participants (1%)
186 Disqualified (1%)
To obtain additional information about the MCM and to obtain a complete listing of all team designations, please visit the MCM Website at: www.mcmcontest.com, or contact COMAP at:
mcm@comap.com.
Major funding for the MCM is provided by COMAP. Additional support is provided by the Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences (INFORMS) and Two Sigma
Investments. COMAP's Mathematical Contest in Modeling and Interdisciplinay Contest in Modeling are unique among modeling competitions in that they are the only international contests in
which students work in teams to find a solution. Centering its educational philosophy on mathematical modeling, COMAP uses mathematical tools to explore real-world problems. It serves the
educational community as well as the world of work by preparing students to become better informed—and prepared—citizens, consumers, and workers.
Contest Director
Patrick J. Driscoll, United States Military Academy, NY
Executive Director
Solomon A. Garfunkel, COMAP, Inc., Bedford, MA
Associate Director
William C. Bauldry, Appalachian State University, NC
Founding Director
Ben Fusaro, Florida State University, FL
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