2013 Interdisciplinary Contest in Modeling ?
Press Release—April 5, 2013
COMAP is pleased to announce the results of the 15th annual
Interdisciplinary Contest in Modeling (ICM). This year 957
teams representing institutions from six countries participated
in the contest. Five teams were designated as OUTSTANDING
WINNERS representing the following schools:
? Northwestern Polytechnical University, China
? SSE, Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications,
China (INFORMS winner)
? Peking University, China
? Zhejiang University, China
? Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, NY
This year’s contest ran from Thursday, January 31 to Monday,
February 4, 2013. During that time, teams of three students
researched, analyzed, modeled, and communicated a solution to
an open-ended interdisciplinary modeling problem. The 2013
ICM was primarily an online contest, where teams registered
and obtained contest materials through COMAP’s ICM
Website.
This year’s problem involved building a network model for
Earth's health. It required teams to understand concepts from
the physical, informational, biological and social sciences to
build an effective model for this complex phenomenon. The
problem contained many multifaceted issues to be analyzed and
had several challenging requirements for innovative scientific
and mathematical modeling and analysis. In addition to network
modeling and analysis and data collection and mining, the
teams had to explain the potential of tipping point thresholds
and state changes in the future health condition of planet Earth
and identify how the model could be used to help policy makers
make informed decisions. This year's problem continued the ICM theme of network science for a second year. The problem also had the ever-present ICM requirements to use thorough data analysis, creative modeling, and scientific methodology, along with effective writing and visualization to communicate their teams' results in a 20-page report. A selection from the Outstanding solution papers will be featured in The UMAP Journal, along with commentaries from the problem author and judges. All the members of the 957 competing teams are to be congratulated for their excellent work and enthusiasm for scientific and mathematical modeling and interdisciplinary problem solving. This year’s judges remarked that despite the challenging problem with myriad difficult tasks, the quality of the modeling, analysis, and presentation was extremely high. 2013 ICM Statistics ? 957 Teams participated ? 22 US Teams (2%) ? 935 Foreign Teams (98%) from China, France, Hong Kong, India and Indonesia ? 5 Outstanding Winners (1%) ? 7 Finalist Winners (1%) ? 121 Meritorious Winners (13%) ? 380 Honorable Mentions (40%) ? 444 Successful Participants (46%)
ICM is associated with COMAP’s Mathematical Contest in Modeling (MCM), which was held during the same weekend. ICM is designed to
develop and advance interdisciplinary problem-solving skills in science, technology, engineering, mathematics (STEM) and the humanities, as well
as competence in written communication. Over the years the ICM problems have included topics in environmental science, biology, chemistry,
resource management, operations research, information science, public health, and network science. Each team is expected to include advisors and
team members who represent a range of disciplinary and interdisciplinary interests in applied problem solving and modeling. Next year’s problem will once again involve a problem in network science as its topic theme. This is an emerging area of interest and advancement for society and
relevant to the future of the student contestants. To obtain additional information about the ICM and to obtain a complete listing of all team
designations, please visit the ICM Website at: https://www.doczj.com/doc/fe12222969.html,, or contact COMAP at: mcm@https://www.doczj.com/doc/fe12222969.html,.
Major start-up funding for the ICM was provided by a grant from the National Science Foundation (through Project INTERMATH) and COMAP.
Additional support is provided by The Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences (INFORMS). COMAP's Mathematical
Contest in Modeling and Interdisciplinary 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, workers, and community leaders.
Administered by
The Consortium for Mathematics
and Its Applications
Contest Directors
Chris Arney , United States Military Academy, NY
Joseph Myers , Army Research Office, NC
Executive Director
Solomon A. Garfunkel, COMAP, Inc., MA