Mathematical Contest in Modeling 2007

Short instructions for the CMCM participants:

• If you have not done so yet, please email the list of your team-members to vlad@math.cornell.edu as soon as possible.
  (Each team is composed of up to 3 undergraduate students.)
• Download the Problem Statement: Groundwater Contamination.
• Spend the weekend conducting research, building model(s), and writing up your solution(s).
  All published materials, internet resources, and software are fair game - but don't forget to attribute whenever appropriate.
  You cannot discuss your work with anyone besides your team-mates.
• Turn in 4 copies of your paper to 310 Malott Hall by 10am on Tuesday (10/31/05).
• Don't forget to have fun in the process!

Good luck!

Time-line:

Oct 17, 2006: Information/training session; 6:00-7:30pm, 251 Malott Hall.

Oct 25, 2006: Information/training session; 6:00-7:30pm, 253 Malott Hall.

Oct 27, 2006: Cornell MCM starts at 6pm.

Oct 31, 2006: Cornell MCM ends at 9:30am. Solutions are due in 310 Malott by 10am.

Nov 9, 2006: The conclusion of CMCM - winners announced, prizes awarded, general festivities.

Feb 8-12, 2007: The winners of CMCM 2006 represent Cornell at the international MCM 2007.

Cornell MCM Pages for the previous years : CMCM'05 / MCM'06; CMCM'04 / MCM'05; CMCM'03 / MCM'04; CMCM'02 / MCM'03.

Short summary: MCM is an international competition, in which a team of three undergraduates chooses one of two open-ended ("real-world") problems, builds a mathematical model, obtains a solution based on it, and writes a detailed paper (proving the feasibility of the team's model and solution) - all this in the space of less than 4 days!
You can: brainstorm with your two teammates, use any reference materials either printed or on the web, write your own software or utilize publicly available to validate your model.
You cannot: consult with anyone besides your teammates, submit your solutions after the deadline, or remain bored in the process.

Get a glimpse of what Applied Mathematicians might do outside of Academia!
The problems are taken from all fields of science, engineering, and industry.
Recent problems included:

• estimating the maximum "safe" number of people for a given type of public facilities;
• studying hunting strategies for velociraptor dinosaurs based on fossil data;
• comparing various grading policies for fighting the "grade inflation";
• providing the guidelines for selecting the design of bicycle wheels to optimize the performance on a given track;
• considering the effects of different airline overbooking strategies on the overall profitability.

• MCM is not so much about what you already know , but more about what you can learn quickly in the new application area.
• MCM is an international contest: last year 748 teams participated representing institutions from 9 countries.
• We are hoping to have two to four teams representing Cornell in 2007 (February 8-12, 2007).
• Several preparation sessions will be held for the potential participants.

Interested, puzzled, or simply curious?

Send your questions to Alex Vladimirsky (vlad@math.cornell.edu), Luke Rogers (lgr23@cornell.edu), Drew LaMar (mlamar@math.cornell.edu), and/or come to one of the preparation sessions.

Organized by:

Consortium for Mathematics and its Applications (COMAP).

Sponsored by:

Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences (INFORMS),

Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics (SIAM),

Mathematical Association of America (MAA).

Some other MCM pages :

University of Colorado at Boulder,

University of Puget Sound,

University of Washington,

Eastern Oregon University,

Grinnell College.