2020 Mathematical Contest in Modeling
®
Press Release—April 24, 2020
COMAP is pleased to announce the results of the 36th annual
Mathematical Contest in Modeling (MCM). This year, 13749 teams
representing institutions from twenty countries/regions participated in
the contest. Nineteen teams from the following institutions were
designated as OUTSTANDING WINNERS:
Beijing Institute of Technology, China
Beijing Normal University, China (Frank Giordano Award)
Dongbei University of Finance and Economics, China
(ASA Data Insights Award)
Harbin Institute of Technology, China AMS Award
NC School of Science and Mathematics, NC, USA
(SIAM Award & MAA Award)
North University of China, China, (SIAM Award & AMS Award)
Northeast Electric Power University, China
Northwestern Polytechnical University, China
Shanghai Jiao Tong University, China (2)
Shenzhen University, China
South China University of Technology, China
(AMS Award & COMAP Scholarship Award)
Southwest Jiaotong University, China
Southwestern University of Finance and Economics, China
(INFORMS Award)
Tiangong University, China (Ben Fusaro Award)
University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, China
University of International Business and Economics, China
(INFORMS Award)
Wuhan University, China
(INFORMS Award & COMAP Scholarship Award)
Xi'an Jiaotong University, China
This year’s contest ran over two weekends from Thursday, February
13 to Monday, February 17, 2020 for Problem A, and from Thursday,
March 5 to Monday, March 9, 2020 for Problems B and C. During that
time, teams of three students researched, modeled, and wrote a solution
to an open-ended real world modeling problem. The 2020 MCM was
an online contest, where teams registered and obtained contest
materials through COMAP’s MCM Website.
The 2020 MCM problems represented a variety of challenging
problems spanning the familiar to new. Each problem required teams
to apply unique mathematical modeling skills to answer the questions
posed. All three problems were created by the MCM Problem
Committee, a unique blend of academicians and industry professionals
with many years of mathematical modeling experience. Teams again
had to be at the top of their game to excel.
The A problem asked teams to model and analyze economic
ramifications of climate change induced fish migration as it affects
small scale fishing operations dependent upon two commercially
viable species in the coastal waters of Scotland. Intentionally limiting
considerations to small fishing vessels with no onboard refrigeration
capability that were participating in fresh catch markets raised the very
real possibility that these companies might have to relocate their
fishing base in order to continue operations. This created a situation
uniquely apart from large scale commercial operations capable of
pursuing the two species wherever they may go. Teams were also
asked to address implications if the species relocated into new national
boundary waters, an action that could have fishing companies running
afoul of established political agreements. With the U.K. poised to exit
the European Union at the time this problem was created, the A
problem placed teams within a subset of very real implications of this
move on the Scottish small scale fishing industry.
The B problem asked a common question of children of all ages: what
is the best geometric shape to use as a sandcastle foundation in the face
of tides and surf? Conditions restricted the problem setting to one
supporting a cross-comparison of shapes, sizes, and designs based on
measures of ‘best’ that teams developed. Water erosion dynamics
inspired teams to develop models capable of integrating specific shape
geometries with time-based effects in a novel and informative manner.
The C problem asked teams to identify measures and insights that
would inform design, marketing, timing of participation, and other
business decisions for a company planning on selling three products
online. Three very large datasets containing past online purchase
information involving similar products were provided to support their
mathematical models. Requiring teams to use valid text-based analysis
techniques was new to the MCM this year. Cleverly blending
numerical and text-based measures into unified models extended the
challenge in a very real way.
A selection from the Outstanding solution papers will be featured in
The UMAP Journal, along with commentaries from the problem
authors and judges. All 13749 of the competing teams are to be
congratulated for their excellent work and enthusiasm for
mathematical modeling and interdisciplinary problem solving.
2020 MCM Statistics
• 13749 Teams Participated
• 3851 Problem A (28%)
• 2453 Problem B (18%)
• 7445 Problem C (54%)
• 19 Outstanding Winners (<1%)
• 180 Finalist Winners (1%)
• 839 Meritorious Winners (6%)
• 3522 Honorable Mentions (26%)
• 8941 Successful Participants (65%)
• 49 Unsuccessful Participants (<1%)
• 198 Disqualified (1%)
• 1 Not Judged (<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
