COMAP's Mathematical Contest in Modeling (MCM)® and Interdisciplinary Contest in Modeling (ICM)® are international contests for high school students and college undergraduates. The contests challenge teams of up to three students to analyze, model, solve, and present solution reports on an open-ended application problem. In these contests research, analytics, applied intelligence, and teamwork are just as important as time management and problem selection. Learn more about our math contests.

This year’s contest ran from February 16 to February 20, and we are pleased to announce the results!

2023 Mathematical Contest in Modeling (MCM)

This year, during the 39th annual MCM, 11,296 teams representing institutions from 21 countries/regions participated in the contest. Twenty-two teams from the following institutions were designated as outstanding winners: 

• Beijing Institute of Technology, China (2 Teams) (SIAM Award 2303950) (Ben Fusaro Award 2309229)
• Columbia University, NY, USA (2 Teams) (INFORMS Award & MAA Award 2322645) (MAA Award 2322687)
• Duke University, NC, USA (COMAP Scholarship Award, MAA Award & SIAM Award)
• East China Normal University, China (SIAM Award)
• Fudan University, China
• Nanjing University of Posts & Telecommunications, China
• Northeastern University of China, China (COMAP Scholarship Award & ASA Award)
• Renmin University of China, China (2 Teams)
• Shanghai Jiao Tong University, China (INFORMS Award)
• Shanghai University of Finance and Economics, China
• The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen, China
• Tiangong University, China (Frank Giordano Award)
• Tianjin University, China
• Tsinghua University, China (INFORMS Award)
• University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, China (2 Teams) (AMS Award 2300336)
• Xi'an Jiaotong University, China
• Xidian University, China
• Zhejiang University of Finance and Economics, China (AMS Award)
  
• Nanjing University of Posts and Telecommunications, China (Finalist - AMS Award)

The 2023 MCM problems represented a variety of challenging problems spanning the familiar to the new. Each problem required teams to apply mathematical modeling skills in a creative way. 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. Click here to view the problems.

2023 Interdisciplinary Contest in Modeling (ICM)

This year, during the 25th annual MCM, 9,563 teams representing institutions from 13 countries/regions participated in the contest. Fifteen teams from the following institutions were designated as outstanding award winners: 

• Beijing Institute of Technology, China (INFORMS Award & COMAP Scholarship Award)
• Chang’an University, China (Rachel Carson Award)
• China University of Geosciences Beijing, China (INFORMS Award)
• China University of Petroleum, China (INFORMS Award)
• Liaoning University, China
• Nanjing University of Posts & Telecommunications, China
• Renmin University of China, China (Vilfredo Pareto Award)
• Shanghai Jiao Tong University, China (AMS Award)
• Soochow University, China (SIAM Award)
• Southwest Jiaotong University, China
• Sun Yat-Sen University, China
• Tianjin University, China (SIAM Award & COMAP Scholarship Award)
• University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, China (Leonhard Euler Award)
• Wuhan University, China (AMS Award)
• Xidian University, China (AMS Award)
  
• Pacific Lutheran University, Tacoma, WA, USA (Finalist - MAA Award)
• Seattle Pacific University, Seattle, WA, USA (Finalist - MAA Award) 
• National University of Defense Technology, China (Finalist - SIAM Award)

Student teams produced creative and relevant solutions to complex questions and built models to handle the tasks assigned in the problems. The problems also required data analysis, creative modeling, and scientific methodology, along with effective writing and visualization to communicate their team’s results in a 25-page report.

Abstracts of select reports from both contests will be featured in The UMAP Journal, along with commentaries from the problem authors and judges. We congratulate all of the competing teams for their excellent work and enthusiasm for mathematical modeling and interdisciplinary problem solving.

Unabridged versions of all the Outstanding Papers are now available to MATHModels.org members. For more information visit www.mathmodels.org. 

Our math contests are team-based competitions, so teamwork is essential. Teams that enter the contest have a unique opportunity to work on very challenging real-world math modeling problems. So during the contest, they are able to build interpersonal skills such as active listening, communication, collaboration, and building consensus to name a few. And there are many more benefits to participating in math contests.

We will be highlighting some of the teams on social media over the coming weeks, so make sure you are following us on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn!