The results of 2012 Mathematical Contest in Modeling (MCM) were announced on April 6. Among the six JI teams who participated, one team won the first prize and two teams won the second prizes.
MCM is an annual mathematics competition for international college students. It is the first mathematical modeling contest of its kind and has been attracting college contestants from all over the world. This year, 3697 teams from five continents participated.
There are two categories of the competition: Mathematical Contest in Modeling (MCM) and Interdisciplinary Contest in Modeling (ICM). The competition emphasizes creativity of the problem and the solution, team work, and rationality of the results. Each team consists of three undergraduate students, who would select a problem and solve it in four days. They would build a mathematical model and write a paper about the problem, hypothesis, mathematical model construction, software, testing, improvement, strong and weak points of the model, as well as the application of the model. The judges who are specialists would select and reward the best papers. The only rule of the competition is no discussion with any outsiders, including teachers. The students can use any books and materials, go on the internet, and use any computer and software. They are encouraged to be as creative as possible.
MCM/ICM has higher requirements for the competitors beyond simple mathematical theories. It demands mathematical solutions for practical problems. Contestants are asked to analyze the problem, construct a mathematical model, calculate the results, and evaluate the whole process. To prepare for the competition, the JI student s were guided by three faculty members, i.e., Horst Hohberger、Mateusz Krzyzosiak, and Lipo Wang. Through the competition, the students have not only learned how to solve practical problems with mathematical models, but also gained experience in team work, English communication, and papers writing.
