The Mathematical Contest in Modeling
at the University of Puget Sound

Given that the Mathematical Contest in Modeling (MCM) held its first competition in 1984, the University of Puget Sound has a "long" tradition of participation.

The Mathematical Contest in Modeling is an international competition sponsored by COMAP that asks teams of three undergraduates to spend a weekend modeling an applied mathematics problem. On a Thursday afternoon at 5 P.M. in February the teams receive short descriptions of two open-ended problems. Generally one has a continuous flavor (e.g. physics, differential equations) and the other has a discrete flavor (e.g. computer science, combinatorics). The teams choose one problem to work on, and may use any inanimate aids (books, computers, etc.). By Monday at 5 P.M., they are to have a complete report prepared and out in the mail.

It is amazing to see the effort expended and the results achieved by these teams in four days' time. In even numbered years, the contest is generally undertaken by members of the Mathematical Modeling class (Math/Csci 471), and in odd numbered years the teams are composed of members of Optimization class (Math/Csci 335). If you are a current UPS student majoring in mathematics or computer science (or one of the other sciences) and are interested in competing, please contact Professor Michael Casey.

Thanks to Kelly Cline for entering the problem statements from past years, and graciously allowing me to link into his page. Kelly also has boatloads of advice on how to approach the contest. If you wish to see some of the winning papers (there is really no such thing as a "solution") consult the Fall issue (no. 3) of each year's UMAP Journal - it is devoted entirely to a year's competition, complete with problem statements, winning papers and practitioners' commentaries.

And here's a record of our previous teams' efforts. The top three or four papers for each problem are designated "Outstanding", the next 15% or so are designated "Meritorious" and the remainder of the top 50% are designated "Honorable Mention." The "Successful Participant" designation is as the name implies. Faculty Advisers have been Professor Rob Beezer (1987-2000), Professor DeWayne Deerryberry (2001), Professor Michael Casey (2002-)

UPS MCM Teams