Mathematical Contest in Modeling

The Mathematical Contest in Modeling (MCM) is a five-day international contest in which teams of undergraduates and high schoolers use mathematical modeling to present their solutions to open-ended real world problems. The MCM contest is organized each February by the Consortium for Mathematics and its Applications, with SIAM offering one of the Grand Prizes.

Every fall semester, the SIAM Student Chapter at the University of Minnesota organizes a local competition. Performances in the local competition will be used to determine the teams of students representing the University of Minnesota at the international edition of the MCM in the Spring.

The contest is recognized internationally, is a lot of fun, and participation will look good on your resume!

Local Contest

Every November, the SIAM Student Chapter hosts a local contest similar to MCM. The format of the contest is the same as for the international contest. Interested teams register by emailing the SIAM Student Chapter, we send out a modeling problem similar to MCM problems with a list of questions for teams to think about, and undergraduate teams have about a week to send back a proposal for how they would solve the problem and answers to some of the questions we pose. You can find past problems here.

After the contest, the judges will read the reports and decide on the winning teams. Book prizes will be awarded to the top teams, who will also be sponsored to represent the University of Minnesota in the international MCM, which they participate in remotely. We will also host additional practice sessions as necessary, where the judges will provide constructive feedback to each team to help them improve their submissions for the international competition.

The official rules (for both the local and the international contest) are available on COMAP's website. Be sure to read them carefully!

International Contest

The next international MCM will be in the beginning of 2020. The SIAM Chapter will assist students in signing up for the contest and preparing, and will serve as faculty advisors.

Practice

To prepare for the contest, it is a good idea to look at the problems listed on the Math Models website. Some of them are actually past MCM problems, and all of them have a similar scope. Pick a problem, come up with a model and a report outline, and we will give you feedback on your ideas. You can also look at the past local MCM problems.

Other good resources: