Mathematics
What is the Mathematical Competition in Modeling?
Mathematical Contest in Modeling (MCM) is an international contest for high school students and college undergraduates. It challenges teams of students to clarify, analyze, and propose solutions to open-ended problems. The contest attracts diverse students and faculty advisors from over 900 institutions around the world.
The Interdisciplinary Contest in Modeling (ICM) is an extension of the Mathematical Contest in Modeling (MCM). It is designed to develop and advance interdisciplinary problem-solving skills as well as competence in written communication.
The competition is usually during February. Students compete in teams of 3, and there is a definite emphasis on clear communication. A simple model chosen for reasons that are clearly communicated will generally do better than a sophisticated model without good justification. Students have from 5 pm on a Thursday to 8 pm the following Monday to work on a submit their solution. Students provide a 1 page summary of their modeling efforts and results, and a longer report (often on the order of 10-20 pages, including citations of resources used) detailing their methods and results. During the competition students may use whatever print or internet resources they can find, but may not get help from another human being with their model or modeling results, with the exception that the team advisor may help them submit their results to the competition.
Central Washington University Teams and Results
Teams have been advised by Dr. Boersma (2002-2010), Dr. Bisgard, and Dr. Linhart (2018-2020). The top teams are designated Outstanding Winners. Other designations (in declining order) are: Finalist, Meritorious Winner, Honorable Mention, Successful Participant, Unsuccessful Participant, Disqualified. In the international competition, generally somewhat more than the top half the teams are Successful Participants or better, and about 25% of the teams are Honorable Mention or better. A designation of Meritorious Winner goes to about 6% of the teams, Finalist to 1%, and Outstanding Winner to very very few. There are generally many thousands of teams entered worldwide. Our teams have done very well in this competition! We are very proud of our MCM teams at all levels of achievement.
| YR. | Standing | Team Members | Problem | ||
| '20 | Successful Participants | Cameron Bundy | Andrew Skirko | Kim Wiles | |
| '19 | Finalist | Jack Dutton | Riley Krall | Bill Miller | The Place I Called Home |
| '18 | Honorable Mention | Riley Krall | Olivia Vasquez | Rachel Walker | Send in the Drones |
| '10 | Honorable Mention | Sam Darda | Riley Krall | Rachel Walker | Many Languages |
| '10 | Successful Participant | Jason Milne | Traca Flowers | Raul Castro | The Sweet Spot |
| '09 | Honorable Mention | Monica Dinescu | Jesse Ellis | Mary Kastning | Criminology |
| '09 | Successful Participant | Sara L. Hanold | Amber Goodrich | Geoff LaBrant | Energy and the Cell Phone |
| '08 | Meritorious Winner | Brandon Belieu | Russell Hess | Kyle Mitchell | Designing a Traffic Circle |
| '07 | Successful Participant | Amber Goodrich | Alisha Zimmer | Take a Bath | |
| '06 | Honorable Mention | Blair Sherman | Alisha Zimmer | Melissa Thompson | The Airplane Seating Problem |
| '05 | Meritorious Winner | Amy Eglin | Blair Sherman | Frederick Lieske III | Wheel Chair Access |
| '04 | Meritorious Winner | Andrew Musselman | Nicholas Stanford | Tollbooths | |
| '04 | Meritorious Winner & Ben Fusaro Award | Seth Miller | Dustin Mixon | Jonathan Pickett |
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| '03 | Meritorious Winner | Erick Langland | Seth Miller | Jonathan Pickett | The Stunt Person |
| '02 | Successful Participant | Marion Andrin | Jonathan Pickett | Evan Yates | |
| '02 | Successful Participant | Sean Baxter | Erik Langland | Andrew McNeil | Wind and Waterspray |
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